The Prophecy Continues
by Iheartninjago2010
Summary: Two years after the defeat of the Overlord, a new prophecy is revealed. Jay and Nya are married and expecting thier first child. But there is something special about the babies. Will they be able to defeat the new threat to Ninjago City's new-found peace? Includes a new evil power as well as old and the disapearance of a very important main character.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, all you ninjago fans out there, it's Ininjago2010 here with a new story. (My name was supposed to be Iheartninjago2010 but the silly computer deleted the heart symbol. ****) Anyway, here my new story. Hope you enjoy it!**

The Prophecy Continues

Chapter 1

It had been two years since the defeat of the Overlord. During that time, Ninjago had been experiencing a time of peace. The Bounty had been anchored in Ninjago Bay and since there were no evil powers to defeat, the ninja kept themselves busy by lending a hand to the police and keeping crime down to a minimum in the city. Jay and Nya had been married for about a year and a half and were expecting their first child. Everyone still lived on the Bounty, except for Lloyd's parents, who had moved into a small house in the city.

"Jay, where are you?" Nya called from the kitchen. She was getting everything ready for the celebration that night. It was the 2nd anniversary of the defeat of the Overlord and Lloyd's parents were joining them on the Bounty for a celebration.

"In here, Nya," he called back from their bedroom. He and the others had just gotten back from a training exercise at the Dojo and they were all getting cleaned up.

"Are you ready yet?" she asked.

"Just about," he replied.

"You'd better hurry," Nya told him. "Lloyd's parents will be here soon."

"I'm ready," he said as he joined her in the kitchen. He came up behind her and kissed her cheek. Nya smiled and leaned back against him. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she told him, as she continued arranging food on the platters. "Never felt better."

"Hm," Jay said, not totally convinced that she was telling the truth. He didn't push her though. He knew he could learn more about how she was really feeling by watching her than by asking her. "I'm not so sure we should go tonight. It might be too much excitement for you." Nya turned to face him.

"Really, Jay, I feel fine! I promise I will take it easy and let you know if I start to get tired," she promised. "I really want to go. Please?" she begged her husband as she batted her long eyelashes at him. Jay sighed and shook his head.

"All right," he gave in, just as she knew he would. He never had been able to say no to her. Nya giggled and kissed him before turning away to finish fixing the trays.

Fifteen minutes later, everyone was seated at the Bounty's long table. Down the middle of the table sat the food trays along with a pot of something Cole had made.

"Cole, what is this stuff supposed to be?" Kai asked as he cautiously stirred the pot of blackish-reddish soup that looked like it had chunks something floating in it.

"That 'stuff' is my newest batch of five-alarm, extreme heat chili," Cole replied, proudly. The others exchanged glances, no one making a move to try any. Cole looked at them with with a hurt expression on his face. "Well, isn't anyone going to try any?"

"Oh, um, I'm, uh, on a diet," Lloyd said.

"I'm, uh, allergic to spicy foods," Zane said.

"Jay, why don't you try some?" Kai suggested, dumping a large spoonful of the soupy 'chili' on the blue ninja's plate. Jay glared at him.

"Go on, Jay, try it," Cole encouraged as he hesitated.

"Well, here goes," Jay said as he lifted a small spoonful to his mouth and cautiously tasted it. As soon as the 'chili' touched his tongue, Jay's face darkened to a bright cherry red and his eyes widened and began to water. He grabbed the glass of water on the table in front of him and gulped it down. Everyone except Cole began to laugh.

"How was it Jay?" Sensei asked once Jay had set the now empty water glass on the table. His face was still red and he coughed a couple of times before answering.

"It's definitely spicy," he answered, refilling his glass with water.

"I told you it was," Cole reminded him. "But besides the spiciness, how was it?"

"Burnt, but I really couldn't taste anything but the spice," Jay replied. He had just finished his second glass of water and was refilling it for the third. Beside him, Nya let out a little giggle.

"What's so funny?" he asked her.

"You should've seen your face when you tasted that," she told him, giggling.

"Yeah, Jay, it was priceless!" Kai agreed as he and the others began to laugh. The others except for Cole that is.

"I don't get it," he said, confused. "I thought it tasted good."

That started the others laughing even harder.

"Cole, the dragon wouldn't even eat that stuff," Jay told him bluntly.

"I sense that if he did, it would eat right through him," Zane said.

"I bet that stuff's more powerful than the toxic bogs," Lloyd added. Cole looked disappointed.

"But I followed the recipe exactly," he protested. "I don't know why it didn't come out right." Nya picked up a spoonful from Jay's plate and sniffed it thoughtfully.

"How much pepper did you put in it?" Nya asked coughing.

"Only one tablespoon," Cole replied. "Well, it started out as one tablespoon, until the top came off the container as I was pouring it onto the spoon." The other ninja snorted and Nya giggled.

"I think you just answered your question as to why it didn't turn out right," Garmadon told him. Cole nodded sadly as finished off the last bite of food off his plate.

Jay felt Nya flinch beside him. He gave her a questioning look that asked if she was all right. Nya gave him a warm smile and a slight nod. Kai must have felt her flinch as well because he was watching her with a concerned look. When she didn't look at him, he met Jay's eyes over the top of her head. Jay shrugged as if to say he didn't know what was wrong.

"If everyone's finished eating, I brought a cake for dessert," Misako announced as she stood up and began gathering the empty plates.

"Cake?" Cole asked brightening, immediately forgetting about his disastrous 'chili'. The others laughed.

"That's one way to cheer him up," Zane remarked.

"Here, Misako, let me help you," Nya offered as she stood up to assist Lloyd's mother with clearing the table.

"Oh, you don't have to do that, Nya," Misako protested. "Why don't you just sit down a nd take it easy?"

"It seems like that's I've been doing, lately," Nya said. "At least that's all I've been doing when Jay's around," she added with a little giggle. Misako laughed as the two of them carried the dishes into the kitchen.

Jay watched Nya follow Misako out of the room. He wasn't sure why she had flinched beside him, but he couldn't help but worry a little.

"So, Jay, how's it feel to know you could be a father soon?" Cole asked.

"Great," Jay replied with a smile. "But I'm glad she still has another two weeks. There's still some things I'd like to do to the room first." The ninja had remodeled the Bounty so that the baby could have its own room.

"You nervous?" Lloyd asked him.

"A little," he admitted. Garmadon chuckled.

"I remember when Lloyd was born. I felt the same way," he said. "You remember, Brother?" He looked at Sensei who nodded, smiling at the memory.

" 'A little nervous' would be putting it mildly," Sensei reminded him. "You drove everybody in the waiting room crazy with your nervous pacing and constantly asking the nurses if Misako was all right." Both brothers laughed and the others joined in.

"Hey, what if Nya has twins, Jay?" Cole wondered. Jay shook his head.

"We are not having twins," he told them. "We are having a little girl and she's going to look just like her mom."

"You sound sure of that," Sensei said.

"I am," Jay replied.

"Technically, there is a possibility that Nya could have twins," Zane pointed out. "And there is no way you could know what the baby is going to look like, if it even is a girl."

"Yeah, Jay, it could be a boy and look like me," Kai said. Jay rolled his eyes.

"As long as it doesn't act like you," he remarked. Kai looked at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, narrowing his fiery eyes to study Jay.

"Nothing," Jay told him, not wishing to get into a fight with his hot tempered brother-in-law.

"Who's ready for cake?" Nya asked as she carried a tray of cake slices on saucers to the table.

"Me!" Cole, Lloyd, Kai, and Jay all exclaimed.

"I sense that we all are," Zane told her.

Nya laughed and set the tray on the table before passing a plate of cake down the table to each person. Misako entered the room with a tray of glasses and a pitcher of milk as Nya lifted the now empty tray from the table and carried it back into the kitchen.

"This cake is really good, Misako," Cole told her, shoveling his third bite into his mouth.

"Thank you," she said as she sat down beside her husband. "But I didn't make it. I bought it at the store."

"Oh, well, it still tastes good," Cole said, his mouth half full of cake. Nya entered the room then, unnoticed by the others who were busy laughing at Cole. "What's so funny?" he asked, confused. They just laughed and shook their heads.

Nya walked slowly around the table towards her empty spot between Jay and Kai. She had only made it halfway there when she stopped and grabbed onto the end of the table for support, glad no one was sitting there. She tried to hold back the groan that fought to escape but she knew she hadn't when the others turned to look at her.

"Nya?" Jay asked as he jumped up and ran to her side.

"I'm fine, Jay, really. It was just a healthy kick," she said as she let go of the table and continued around the table with Jay following closely behind her. She'd only taken a few steps when she stopped and would'v e lost her balance if Jay hadn't caught her.

"I sense that is more than just a 'healthy kick'," Zane said. Nya gripped Jay's arm tightly as tears came into her eyes.

"Jay, I think it's time to get Nya to the hospital," Misako told him. Jay's eyes grew wide.

"But she's not due for another two weeks," he protested.

"I think you'd better try telling the baby that," Nya said, and she groaned as another contraction hit her.

**All right, there's the first chapter! I will try to update again either later tonight or tomorrow. I have the next chapter typed up but I did it on my Ipod and I can't figure out how to upload it. So I have to type it up again but on my computer. **** Oh, well. I hope you enjoyed reading this first chapter as much as I did writing it. And don't worry, the new prophecy will be revealed in the next chapter. **** So please REVIEW and tell me how you liked it! **

**Oh, and before I forget, I do need some suggestions about what kind of weapon/weapons a ninja with both fire and earth powers or both lightning and ice powers would use. I really don't want my new character/characters to use the same weapons as the original ninja, but I will if I have to. I probably won't need to mention them until at least the third chapter, so you have some time to think. Please let me know in the REVIEW section!**

**So, in the meantime, REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, here's the next chapter. I know the last one was kinda boring but I think this one is better. Oh, and I before I forget, I don't own Ninjago or any of the characters except for the two new ones introduced in this chapter. Hope you enjoy it!**

Chapter 2

An hour and a half later found the ninja, Lloyd's parents, and Sensei Wu in the hospital waiting room. Jay had gotten Nya to the hospital in record time and the nurses had immediately taken her into the back, assuring him that she would be all right. The others had joined him a few minutes later.

"Jay, you're going to wear a rut in the floor if you don't stop pacing," Sensei told the blue ninja as he nervously paced the floor in front of the chairs where they sat. Jay looked up at him and nodded. He sat down in a chair next to Kai, who was fidgeting nervously.

Just then, a nurse walked over to them. She smiled as she approached.

"Mr. Walker?" she asked. Jay jumped to his feet.

"Yes ma'am?" he answered.

"Congratulations, you're a father," she told him. Jay stood there stunned for a moment.

"I'm a father," he said quietly as a smile lit up his face. He turned to face the others. "I'm a father!" he announced.

"Congratulations, Jay!" Cole clapped him on the back.

"How's Nya?" Jay asked as he turned back to the nurse.

"Your wife is just fine," she assured him.

"Can I see her now?" he asked anxiously. The nurse nodded.

"You all can if you'd like," she said. "Room 113, down the hall, on the left." With that, she continued past them down the hall.

They made their way down the hall that the nurse had indicated until they found room 113, Next to the door was a sign that said 'Nya Walker' on it. Jay quietly opened the door and peeked in.

Nya was lying in a bed that sat against the wall, holding a tiny pink bundle in one arm. Her eyes were open and she smiled when she saw them.

"Jay, come meet your new daughters," she said.

"Daughters?" he asked as he and the others approached the bed. They noticed another tiny bundle, wrapped in yellow, on the other side of her.

"Daughters," Nya confirmed as she handed him the pink bundle. Jay gently folded back the cloth that covered the sleeping baby's face.

"She's got dark hair like yours," he told Nya as tenderly ran his finger over the girl's soft jet black hair. "She's so tiny," he said as the baby opened her eyes.

"Hey, she's got my eyes!" Kai exclaimed as he peeked at the baby over Jay's shoulder. Sure enough, the girl had her uncle's fiery hazel eyes. She even had a notch in her left eyebrow, just like Kai's. "Told ya she'd look like me," he told Jay as he clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Ah, correction, Kai," Zane began, "You said it could be a boy and look like you."

"Yeah, well, I still said it would look like me," Kai countered.

"Kai, would you like to hold one of your nieces?" Nya asked, holding the yellow bundle out to him. Kai took the baby gently.

"She's got light hair," Cole said, puzzled. "None of you have hair that light." He looked at Kai, Jay, and Nya.

"You're right," Lloyd agreed. He studied the baby for a moment before turning to Zane.

"What is it, Lloyd?" he asked, seeing Lloyd staring at him.

"Her hair is almost the same shade as yours," Lloyd answered.

"Hey, you're right. And she has a slash through her right eyebrow just like Jay," Kai pointed out.

"I sense that these are not normal twins," Zane said, glancing back and forth between the babies. Everyone looked at him.

"What do you mean, Zane?" Jay asked.

"I'm not sure, but there's something special about them," Zane replied. Sensei stepped forward.

"Zane is right," he told them. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small box which he opened. The others gasped at what lay inside. Two necklaces, each with a single pendant skillfully designed so that when they were connected, they looked like one. The halves were different though. The one side was gold with tiny red and black stones set in the swirls while the other was silver with blue and white stones.

"They're so pretty, but what're they for?" Nya asked.

"According to the prophecy, a set of twins will be born, with each of the twins possessing two of the ninja's powers as well as one of their own. The prophecy states that a new evil will rise and only these two together will be able to defeat it," Sensei explained.

"And you think that these are the twins mentioned in the prophecy?" Kai asked.

"There's only one way to tell," Sensei replied, moving to stand in front of the twins. He lifted the necklaces from the box and held them, one in each hand, in front of them. As soon as they were close to the babies, the necklaces began to glow brightly.

Everyone gasped in amazement.

"It _is_ them," Garmadon said.

"This one has the powers of lightning and ice," Sensei said as he dangled the glowing silver pendant in front of the twin in yellow.

"Then that means this one has fire and earth powers," Jay said as he looked at the twin in his arms. Sensei nodded as he carefully put the necklaces back into the box which he handed to Jay.

"You keep these for them until they are old enough to start training," he told Jay, who nodded.

"Isn't that something?" Cole asked. "First, Jay and Nya become the parents of not just one, but two girls. And not only that, they just happen to have ninja powers."

"Yeah, and when they get older, they'll be ninja too," Zane added.

"They'll be the first girl ninja in history," Kai pointed out.

"Hey, that means we'll get to train them!" Lloyd exclaimed excitedly.

"Oh, by the way, what are we going to name them?" Nya asked Jay.

"I think I've got the perfect names," he said. "Since this one has fire and earth powers, how about we call her Kailee? And the other one should be Jayne, because of her lightning and ice powers."

Nya smiled and nodded. "Kailee and Jayne," she said, testing the names out loud. "That's perfect!"

"Sensei you said they'd also have a power of their own," Cole reminded him.

"Yeah, can you tell what it is?" Kai asked. Sensei shook his head.

"Only time will tell," was his reply.

0000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000 000000000000000000000000000

"Massster, they have been born," a serpentine voice said to the figure in the shadows.

"Yes, Scales, I know," the figure replied. "Don't worry, the prophecy will not be fulfilled."

"How can you be sssso sssure of that, Sir?" Scales asked. The figure laughed evily.

"I have my ways," he told the serpentine. Scales looked skeptically at him. "Trust me, and I promise, we will rule Ninjago together," he promised, his evil laughter echoing off the walls of the dark room.

"And I will have my revenge on the ninja," Scales said as he joined in the laughter.

**Oh, no! Scales and a new evil plan to take over Ninjago! The ninja had better watch out! Anyway, what did you think of the twins? The next chapter includes more action concerning the evil powers and the ninja. It even has a tragedy for the main characters! Oh, and I'm still looking for weapon ideas and ninja uniform designs for the twins. Let me know in the review section what you come up with. Anyway, be sure to REVIEW!**


	3. Author's Note (really important!)

Author's Note

Hey everybody! Sorry that this isn't a chapter but I promise I will upload the next one sometime this week. I have been working really hard on it but I'd like to know what you guys would like to see take place in this story. Please visit my profile page and take a look at my polls. I really need some suggestions for the twins; ninja outfit design and color/colors, weapon/weapons, and elemental powers. Here what I have so far.

Kailee:

Shoulder length jet black hair

Fiery hazel eyes

Notch in left eyebrow like Kai

Inherited the fire and earth powers

Jayne:

Long whitish-blonde hair (she keeps it braided)

Blue eyes

Slash through right eyebrow like Jay

Inherited the ice and lightning powers

I was thinking that one of their weapons might be a bow and arrow, but that is not set in stone yet. I was trying to come up with two weapons that when they are joined together, they are more powerful and it would take both twins to use it (keep in mind that the prophecy said that 'together' they would defeat the new evil). Also, I would like to give them each one new power of their own.

Anyway, PLEASE GIVE SUGGESTIONS in the REVIEW SECTION! All suggestions are welcome! Oh, and if I do use your suggestions, I will credit you in the first chapter that I use them in!

Thanks in advance.

-I(heart)ninjago2010-


	4. Chapter 3

All right, everybody, here's the mext chapter! But first I want to say a special thank you to everyone who reviewed and left suggestions! I couldn't believe it! I got 11 reviews after just two chapters (well, three if you count the authors note). I also want to say thank you to cherry blossom24 and two guests for giving me the twins weapons ideas (you have to read the chapter to find out what they suggested!) Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. I stayed up until midnight last night typing it so if there is any mistakes, lease let me know. So, enjoy!

Chapter 3

The twins were now two weeks old. Nya was in their tiny room, rocking a fussy Jayne to sleep. Kailee had been asleep for about an hour and Nya was praying that she wouldn't wake up any time soon. Lately, it seemed that as soon as she had gotten one of them to sleep, the other one would wake up.

"Come on, Jaynie, please go to sleep, honey," Nya whispered to the crying baby.

"Need some help?" Jay stuck his head in the room and asked. Nya looked up.

"Sure, I can't seem to get her to go to sleep," Nya told him.

"Here, let me try," he offered. Nya handed him the baby who almost immediately stopped crying. "Hey, there, Jaynie. It's all right, Daddy's got ya," he told her softly. "You go to sleep now and be a good girl. There you go. Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep little Jaynie," he sang softly. As he sang, Jayne's eyes slowly began to close until by the time he finished the song, she was sleeping peacefully. Jay laid her in the crib beside a still sleeping Kailee and covered her with a blanket.

Nya was shaking her head in amazement, a small smile on her face. "I don't believe it," she said. Jay turned to look at her. "I've been in here at least thirty minutes trying to rock her to sleep and you get her to sleep in less than ten." Jay shrugged.

"I guess I just have a way with babies," he said.

"She's definitely going to be a Daddy's girl," Nya told him as she looked at her sleeping children.

"We'll, it would make sense, after all, she's got my element," Jay told her as he put his arm around her shoulders. Nya leaned her head on his shoulder. "What do you think about the prophecy?" she asked after a moment. She felt Jay shrug.

"I don't really know," he replied. "I mean its kinda neat that they have our elements but I'm not too sure that I want my girls out there fighting some evil power. It's bad enough that you used to come fight with us." Nya jerked her head from his shoulder and looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"Just that every time you came with us, I was constantly worried that you would get hurt," Jay clarified.

"Oh," Nya said as she laid her head back on her husband's shoulder. "Maybe Sensei's wrong," she said. Jay shook his head.

"He's never been wrong before when it comes to prophecy," he reminded her. "And he had the necklaces that glowed when they neared the twins."

"I guess you're right," Nya sighed. "I suppose I'm just going to have to get used to the fact that my daughters are going to be ninja when they grow up." Jay smiled.

"Don't worry," he said. "They've got a while until that happens."

"Jay, Nya! You'd better come quick! The camera is sensing some kind of disturbance!" Lloyd told them as he burst into the room.

"Do you know what it is?" Nya asked as she, Jay, and Lloyd ran into the control room. The others were there, gathered around a small computer screen.

"I'm not sure," Zane said as he pushed some buttons and the screen changed to show-

"Serpentine!" Cole exclaimed as the screen showed images of the snakes.

"But I thought they were trapped underground!" Jay protested.

"They were," Zane confirmed. "They must've escaped somehow."

"But how? There's no way they could dig through the walls of that stone vault," Lloyd pointed out.

"Yeah, the only way to get out is if somebody opened to door from the outside," Kai said. His eyes lit up as it dawned on him. "That's it! Somebody had to have released them!"

"But who would do something like that?" Cole asked.

"I don't know, but I do know that they are now loose and are wrecking havoc in Ninjago City," Zane told them.

"We'll, what're we waiting for?" Lloyd asked. "Let's go beat up some Serpentine!"

"Ninja Go!" The five ninja yelled before they ran out of the room. Jay stopped to give Nya a quick kiss.

For the next few weeks, there were multiple Serpentine sightings in various places. What the ninja didn't understand though was the purpose of these attacks. Whenever the twins were not in need of her attention, Nya spent her time in the control room, studying maps and scrolls.

"Guys, there's another Serpentine strike near Torch fire Mountain!" Nya called over the speaker one afternoon.

Within minutes, the five ninja had joined her in the control room.

"Give us the all the dirt, Nya," Cole told her.

"All right, there has been another Serpentine sighting near Torch fire Mountain," she informed them. They looked at the computer screen.

"Man, it looks like the entire Serpentine Army is there!" Jay said. All of the recent sightings had bee small ones and had been easily handled.

"Yes, but what I can't figure out is why," Nya said, puzzled. "What would they want with Torch fire Mountain?"

Sensei entered the room just then.

"The golden weapons have returned!" he announced. Everyone turned to face him.

"What?" Cole asked, not sure he had just heard him right.

"The golden weapons, they have returned," Sensei repeated.

"But how? And where are they?" Kai asked.

"The prophecy states that once they are destroyed, the golden weapons will one day return, " Sensei said. "The spirit smoke has shown me that they have returned."

"You didn't tell us where they were," Zane reminded him.

"According to the prophecy, they will return to a cave where only one ninja can stand the heat," Sensei told them. "That is all I know." The others looked at each other, puzzled.

"'A cave where only one ninja can stand the heat,'" Nya repeated softly. She turned towards the computer screen and began punching buttons. After a few minutes, the screen changed to show the inside of Torch fire Mountain.

"There!" she exclaimed, pointing at the screen. "That must be the cave!"

The others looked at the screen and noticed the cave opening in the side of the mountain.

"Zoom in on it, Nya," Lloyd said, and she did.

"I don't see our weapons," Jay said.

"That doesn't mean they aren't in there," Zane told him. "That looks like a large cave. They could be deeper inside it."

"But why does it say that only one ninja can stand the heat?" Cole wondered. "I don't see anything that would prevent any of us from going in there."

Nya zoomed in a little more on the cave. Everyone gasped at what they saw. The middle of the cave was nothing but lava!

"What is that?" Lloyd asked. "A lava waterfall?"

"Looks like it," Cole said.

"How are we supposed to get through that? Anyone who tries will be burned to a crisp!" Jay pointed out.

"I can get through that with the heat protection suit," Kai told the others.

"But why do you have to go?" Zane asked.

"Yeah the suit fits any of us," Coke agreed.

"Actually, Kai is the only one who can go. His element is fire so he naturally has a higher heat tolerance than the rest of you," Sensei told them.

"I think we might have a bigger problem on our hands than the lava," Nya said as she looked at the screen. "The serpentine are quickly approaching Torch fire Mountain."

"They must know about the weapons!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"We have to get there before they do," Kai said. "Nya, set course for Torch fire Mountain."

"Aye, aye, Captain," she saluted as she raised anchor and the Bounty began gaining altitude.

By the time they reached Torch fire Mountain, the Serpentine were almost there. Nya dropped the anchor while the others prepared to go. Jay joined her in the control room.

"You ready to go?" she asked. He nodded.

"Just waiting on Kai to get into the heat suit," he replied.

"Be careful, Jay," Nya told him.

"I will," he promised, as he hugged her. He pulled back to look into her face and saw the worry there. He smiled warmly. "Don't worry."

"I can't help it," Nya replied. "Jay, I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling this time. Do you have to go?" Jay stroked her cheek gently. He didn't want to worry her, but he had been having a bad feeling about this too.

"Nya, we're a team. They need me," he said. "I have to go. We'll be all right."

"Promise?" she asked. Jay nodded.

"Promise," he said, kissing her.

"Jay, you coming?" Kai asked from the doorway. Jay gave Nya a quick hug and kiss before walking towards the door with Nya following.

"You be careful too," she told Kai as she hugged him.

"Don't worry, Sis, I will," he promised.

"That suit can only protect you for so long so once you get into that cave, grave the weapons and get out of there as fast as you can," Sensei handed Kai the weapons case. He nodded as he joined the other four ninja at Bounty's rail.

"Ninja Go!" the five of them exclaimed as they jumped off the ship.

Once on the ground, Cole turned to Kai.

"Head for the cave, we'll try to hold em off," he told him. Kai nodded and took off towards the mountain.

He quickly crossed the bridge was inside. Stopping just past the entrance he looking around, searching for the cave he had seen on the computer screen. He soon spotted it. Once inside, he saw the lava waterfall.

"Well, here goes," he said. " I sure hope this works."

He rushed towards the lava and ran right through it.

"What do you know?" Kai said as he stopped at surveyed the suit. "It worked!"

The sound of stone falling next to him, reminded him of his task. Quickly rounding the bend, he stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw. There, at the back of the cave, lay the golden weapons.

"Wow," he breathed, savoring the weapons' beauty. He opened the case and began to put the weapons in it. The scythe of quakes, the nun chucks of lightning, the shruikens of ice, and the sword of fire, which he put on his back. But wait, there were two more. One was a golden bow and the other was a a golden double dagger. Kai stared at them in amazement.

"I wonder whose these are?" He thought to himself as he looked at the extra weapons. "Oh, well, might as well bring them too," he said, adding them to the case.

He closed the case and stood up, ready to head back to the others when he suddenly heard the deep rumble of evil laughter. He whirled around, sword drawn, ready to face whoever the laughter belonged to. Only, no one was there. The laughter grew louder as Kai anxiously searched the cave with his eyes.

"Who's there?" he demanded. The laughter kept on. "Come out and fight me, you coward!" The laughter stopped. 'Okay maybe I shouldn't have said that,' Kai thought.

"You want me to come out and fight?" the voice asked. "Well, here I am." Kai still didn't see anything. Then he noticed a shadow on the wall move. It's arm came towards him and Kai moved his sword to block it, but the arm went right through the sword, punching him square in the jaw. He stumbled back in surprise as he realized that his enemy didn't Have a shadow, he Was the shadow. Fear shot through him as he realized that he was pretty much defenseless against the shadow. The shadow struck at him again and this time, Kai was able to dodge it. Frantically, he racked his mind for any idea he could find that might enable him to escape. Finding nothing, he continued to dodge the attacks as best he could.

"What is it you want?" Kai asked the shadow as he dodged a kick.

"The golden weapons," the shadow replied. Kai clutched the case tighter. "One of the golden weapons will enable me to become human again and then I will have the power to destroy you ninja once and for all!" the shadow laughed menacingly.

"But you can't hold the weapons," Kai reminded the shadow. "How do you plan on getting them?"

"Why do you think I went through all the trouble to release the Serpentine?" The shadow asked.

Kai heard voices from outside the cave.

"My friends can defeat the Serpentine with one hand behind their backs," he told the shadow.

"Oh, but can you defeat me?" The shadow asked as he caught Kai off guard with a punch to the stomach.

Meanwhile the other four ninja had managed to hold off the Serpentine.

"Where's Kai?" Cole asked.

"He should've come back by now," Lloyd said.

"I sense that he is in some kind of trouble," Zane told them.

"Cole, come on, lets go help him," Jay said as he began running towards the Mountain.

They made it to the mouth of the cave in no time.

"Kai? Are you in there?" Cole yelled into the cave, just as Kai rolled through the lava waterfall. He jumped to his feet in front of Cole and Jay.

"Kai, did you get the weapons?" Jay asked.

"Here," Kai said, shoving the weapons case at them. The two of them quickly removed their weapons and closed the case back. "Come on, lets get out of here!" Kai told them as he began running down the trail. He hadn't taken but a few steps when his path was blocked by none other than Scales.

"And where do you think you're going?" the Serpentine hissed. He looked past the ninja and nodded. The ninja turned as they were suddenly surrounded by a small Serpentine army.

"You think you can stop us?" Cole asked the Serpentine. "How many times do we have beat you before you realize you can't stop us?"

The Serpentine laughed and their laughter became louder as the laughter of the shadow joined in.

"You are right ninja," the shadow said. "The Serpentine cannot stop you. But with my help, they can." With that, the Shadow emerged from the cave. Cole and Jay gasped as they realized that the shadow was their enemy. "Serpentine! Attack!" The shadow commanded.

"Come on, guys, we can still beat them," Kai told Cole and Jay.

"Ninja Go!" they yelled, spinning around into each of their spinjitsu tornados.

Kai struck Scales in the face with his fist while kicking another serpentine in the stomach. Cole pushed one of the serpentine off the edge of the trail. Jay whirled his nunchucks and hit three of the serpentine with a bolt of lightning, knocking them off their feet. But the serpentine wasn't the only ones that the lightning affected. The entire mountain quaked beneath them, throwing everyone to the ground.

"Jay, don't tell me you used your lightning," Cole yelled over the mountain's groaning.

"Actually, I did," Jay replied, sheepishly.

"I told you not to tell me that!" Cole reminded him.

"What's happening?" Jay asked, as the mountain continued to groan and quake, causing rocks of multiple sizes to fall.

"The volcano is going to erupt!" Kai told the others. "We've got to get out of here!" He jumped to his feet and the others followed him.

The lava was beginning to rise quickly and more rocks continued to fall. The serpentine fled down the trail, though a few, in their rush, slipped off the trail and into the boiling lava below. The ninja ran for the exit, carefully dodging the falling rocks.

"Look out!" Jay yelled as he pushed Kai out of the way of a large falling boulder. It landed just behind Kai and Cole, sending up a cloud of dust. The two of them coughed.

"Jay!" Kai called frantically as the dust began to clear. A cough was heard from the other side of the boulder.

"I'm all right," Jay answered. He began climbing over the boulder to the trail on the other side when Scales emerged from the cave opening above Jay. In his hand he held a long spear. The tip reflected the gleam of the lava below, catching Cole's eye.

"Jay! Above you! Watch out!" he warned. But he was too late. By the time, Jay saw Scales, he had no time to react before the spear hit him in the shoulder. Jay cried out in pain and dropped to his knees as Cole and Kai climbed over the boulder to help their brother.

As they reached Jay's side the ground beneath them began to crumble. Cole threw his rope up the wall, praying that it would be able to hook on a ledge. He grabbed Kai who grabbed Jay, just as the ground disappeared from underneath them.

"Hold on!" Cole yelled as he tried to grab onto the part of the trail that was still there.

Kai heard Jay groan from the pain, and moved his head so he could see him. The blue ninja had his head down so Kai couldn't see his face. The arm of Jay's injured shoulder was clinched in a fist so tight that it was beginning to turn white.

"Hang in there, Jay," Kai told him, knowing he was already doing his best.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, the Shadow appeared. He laughed evilly as he watched the ninja desperately trying to retain their hold on each other while Cole tried to pull himself and the others up onto the trail.

Kai felt Jay's hand begin to slip from his grasp.

'If I only didn't have these gloves on,' Kai thought as he grasped Jay's hand tighter.

"Jay, don't let go," Kai told him.

"Kai," Jay gasped out, moving his head so he could look his brother-in-law in the eyes. "Kai, look after Nya," he groaned before he continued,"and the twins for me."

"Jay, you're going to be okay," Kai told him. "We're going to get out of here."

Jay's eyes turned glassy before rolling back in their sockets. His grip loosened and his hand slipped a little further from Kai's grip.

"Hurry, Cole! I'm loosing him!" Kai yelled up to the black ninja. Cole stretched as far as he could towards the trail ledge but he was still a few inches shy. Giving himself a small boost against the other side of the trail, he was able to gain the extra inches needed to reach the ledge.

"I got it!" he yelled as he climbed up onto the ledge and began pulling Kai up.

Jay's hand had now slipped until only the edges of his fingers were in Kai's grasp. As Cole swung towards the trail edge and grasped it, Jay's fingers slipped out of his glove and Kai's grasp.

"No! Jay!" Kai yelled as he tried to regain his grip on Jay. But it was too late. The blue ninja fell rapidly towards the lava below, leaving Kai holding nothing but his black glove.

* * *

Oh, no! Jay's gone! I wonder how Nya's going to take it? I almost cried as I was writing that last segment! I hated doing that to Jay (he's my favorite ninja) but in order for this story to turn out like I wanted it to, I needed to get him out of the story somehow. Don't worry, if this goes the way I have planned, you'll see Jay again! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to vote on my poll, I really need your opinion! And any suggestions you may have are always welcome! So, REVIEW!


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Hey everybody! I am SO excited! I got 14 reviews for the last chapter! I can't believe it! Thank you all so much for your support! I'd like to say a special thank you to Annika and Guest for giving me outfit ideas! I especially like Annika's Outfit A! I will definitely use it for Jayne, though I might change it just a tad. Oh, and I think I've figured out what new 'element' to give each of the twins. I don't think I'm going to give them another element power, but instead I think give them each a special gift. For example: healing power, invisibility, teleportation, ect. something like that. See if yo can guess the gift each twin will get. (If you guess right, I will mention you in the next chapter!)

Anyway, enough talking. Time for the next chapter!

Chapter 4

Cole hauled Kai up over the edge and both of them looked down at the lava pit below them, each praying that they would see some sign that would tell them that their friend was still alive. But they had no such luck. All they could see was boiling hot lava, that was rising towards them with every second.

"Jay," Kai said softly, tears coming to his eyes as he realized that he was really gone. Cole put a hand on his shoulder.

"Kai," he said, his voice thick with unshed tears. "We, we have to get out of here." Kai nodded and stood up, grabbing the weapon case. The mountain shook violently as the two ninja ran the rest of the way down the trail, just barely managing to escape before the entire mountain collapsed. Zane and Lloyd were waiting for them as they emerged.

"Where's Jay?" Lloyd asked as he saw Kai and Cole.

"We have to get to the Bounty!" Was Cole's response. He took off at top speed towards the ship that was hovering close to the ground a few yards away, with the others right behind him.

Nya saw the two ninja emerge from the mountain and were met by the other two. She watched as the four began running towards the Bounty, dodging flying lava rocks.

"As soon as I tell you that they're aboard, pull up," Sensei told Nya.

"But, Sensei, Jay's not with them!" she protested.

"If we don't pull up, some of that flying lava is going to hit the ship and we'll never get out of here," Sensei reminded her. She nodded as he left the control room.

Nya turned back to the window facing the mountain. 'Where are you, Jay?' she thought, and a cold indescribable feeling gripped her heart. Something had to have happened. The ninja would never leave each other if they were in trouble. It was like an unspoken law. All for one, and one for all. 'Calm down, Nya,' she told herself as her imagination began to go wild with reasons why Jay wasn't with the others. 'There's no sense in getting yourself worked up until you know what's happened.'

"They're aboard!" Sensei yelled from the bridge. "Pull up, Nya!" Nya did as she was told and the ship was soon flying high above the mountain, safely out of range of the lava and rocks.

The ninja tumbled wearily over the rail and onto the deck of the Bounty. They laid there panting as Sensei yelled to Nya to pull up.

As the ship began to gain altitude, Kai stood slowly to his feet and walked to the rail. He stood there watching as the mountain got smaller and smaller beneath them. His welled up with tears, which threatened to fall. Kai sniffled and wiped them away. He heard Cole come up behind him and felt him rest his hand on his shoulder in an effort to comfort him. Kai turned to meet Cole's eyes and saw the sorrow which he felt mirrored there. Behind them, Zane, Lloyd, and Sensei Wu stood watching, unsure of what had taken place in the mountain, but knowing it had to have something to do with Jay.

"Kai, Cole, where's Jay?" Zane asked. Kai sniffed again before turning around to face them. He spotted Nya in the doorway of the control room, her eyes wide as she took in the scene before her. Kai took a deep breath and walked towards her. He stopped a few feet in front of her.

"Nya, I, I don't know what to say," he said slowly.

"Kai, what happened? Where's Jay?" she demanded. Kai swallowed hard and began to tell her what happened inside the mountain. By the time he got to the part of the story when Scales threw the spear at Jay, he could barely keep the tears from falling.

"We rushed to his side as he collapsed. Then the part if the trail we were on gave way," he told her. "Cole threw his hook into the wall as he grabbed me and I grabbed Jay." He stopped for a minute wipe his eyes with the back of his hand. "As we hung there with Cole trying to reach the other side of the trail to pull us up, I looked down at Jay. His head was down and his eyes were closed, I thought he might've passed out. I felt his hand begin to slip from mine and I gripped his fingers harder. Then he called me. 'Look after Nya and the twins for me,' he said. I watched as his eyes closed and felt his grip loosen and he slipped from my grasp a little more. I begged him to hang on. I now had only the tips of his fingers in my grasp and they were slipping too. Then, just as Cole began pulling us up onto the ledge, his hand slipped out of his glove." Kai withdrew Jay's black leather glove from his pocket. Nya stared at it, trying to process what her brother had just said.

"You mean," she stopped and she gently took the glove from Kai's hand. "He's gone?" she asked, her voice barely audible.

"Yes," Kai answered, his voice thick with tears. Nya began shaking her head.

"No, no, he can't be gone. He can't be," she said, tears coming to her eyes. "He promised me he'd come back. He can't be gone!" she covered her eyes with her hands and began to sob. Kai stepped closer to her and put his strong arms around her to try and comfort her. She wrapped her arms around him and cried into his shoulder. Kai closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying get control of his emotions, knowing Nya needed him to be strong. He couldn't stop the few stray tears that rolled down his cheeks, though. The other ninja and Sensei quietly left the bridge. Kai stayed there, holding Nya tightly in his arms as she cried.

The next few weeks were sad ones, especially for Nya. The ninja tried to comfort her as best they could, and they all helped with the twins.

One sunny day, the ninja were on the the bridge training when they heard the twins start to cry. Nya had just put them to bed about an hour ago and had said she was going to take a nap as well. The ninja knew she had not been sleeping very well, as they often awoke to hear the sound of her crying.

"I'd better go get them before they wake Nya up," Kai said as he began walking down the steps towards the babies' room. "Hey there, you two," he said softly to the crying babies. He gently picked up Jayne and realized she needed a diaper change. "Uh, oh, looks like I'm going to have to change you," he told blonde haired baby. Five minutes later, he was still trying to figure out how the clean cloth diaper was supposed to fit, when Lloyd entered the room.

"Need some help?" he asked.

"You know how this thing is supposed to go?" Kai asked. Lloyd stepped up beside him.

"Yeah, like this," he said as he took the diaper from the fire ninja's hands and correctly pinned it in place. Kai shook his head in unbelief as he picked up the still crying Kailee.

"I don't know how you figured that out, but I'm so glad you did," he told Lloyd. "Those things are more complicated than they look." Lloyd chuckled.

"It's really not that hard," he said, picking up Jayne. Kailee had quieted down as soon as Kai picked her up. "I think she likes you," Lloyd told Kia as he watched the black haired baby stare up at her uncle with wide hazel eyes. Her hand reached out towards his face and Kai laughed.

Lloyd and Kai carried the twins up onto the bridge where Zane and Cole were still training. They stopped when they saw the two of them emerge with the twins.

"Hey, Kai, itn't it a little early for them to start training to be a ninja?" Zane asked.

"It doesn't hurt for them to get a head start," Kai replied. "They've got a lot of work to do if they're going to get as good as me." The others snorted.

"Oh, listen to the big talker," Cole said. He walked over to where Kai stood with Kailee.

"Don't you listen to your uncle now," he told her. "He's nothing but a lot of hot air."

"Hot air!" Kai exclaimed, an angry spark coming into his eyes. Kailee made a laughing noise.

"Yeah, that's right, baby, you don't want to be like him," Cole said. "You want to be strongest, like me." Kai snorted.

"Now, who's the big talker?" he asked.

"Well, she does have my element so she could master it first," Cole pointed out to Kai.

"She's got more of my element in her," Kai retorted. "See, she's got my eyes and a notch in her eyebrow just like me."

"Yeah, but she's got my hair," Cole said.

"That's not your hair, that's Nya's," Kai told him.

"Nu-uh, Nya's hair doesn't have any curl in it and this baby's hair does," Cole replied.

"Your hair doesn't have any curl in it either," Kai reminded him.

"Yeah it does," Cole protested. "See, the ends have s little bit of curl." He held a few pieces out so Kai could see.

"Well, she's still going to be better with fire than earth," Kai announced. Cole narrowed his eyes at the red ninja.

"You willing to bet on that?" he asked.

"How much you willing to loose?" Kai asked.

"Whichever one of our elements she doesn't master first, that one of us has be the other ones servant for a day," Cole said.

"Deal," Kai agreed and they shook hands.

"Come on, Kailee, squeeze my finger as hard as you can," Cole told the baby as he put his pointer finger in her hand.

"Uh, guys, don't you think you should wait until she gets at least old enough to walk to start training her?" Zane interrupted.

"Oh, no you don't!" Nya said from behind them. The four ninja turned see Nya striding towards them, an angry expression on her face.

"Nya, we was just playing around with them," Kai told her as she took Kailee from his arms.

"You were trying to teach her to be a ninja," his sister said. "I do not want my daughters to be ninja." The four ninja stared at her.

"But, Nya, what about the prophecy?" Lloyd asked.

"Sensei was wrong," she replied. "My daughters will not grow up to be ninja. In fact," she continued, "I don't even want them to know that you guys are ninja. I don't want them to know anything about the ninja!" The four stood there, stunned at what she'd just said.

"But Nya," Kai began, by Nya interrupted.

"I mean it Kai!" she told him. "If you can't respect my wishes for my daughters, then, then," she paused and took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Then I'll take them somewhere where you won't be able to see them."

"Nya, please, don't do this," Zane begged. "You can't keep the twins from fulfilling their destiny."

"I can, if its not theirs," she replied. She was silent for a few minutes. When she finally spoke again, there were tears in her eyes. "I lost Jay because he was a ninja. I refuse to loose my daughters the same way." With that, she took Jayne from Lloyd and went down the stairs towards the twins' room.

Kai turned and stalked off towards the front of the ship. He was angry and hurt. The others watched him go, unsure of whether to follow him. Sensei solved their predicament by telling them that training was canceled for the rest of the day and go after Kai himself.

Sensei found Kai, leaning against the railing, his hands clenching it so hard that his knuckles were white.

"It might help if you talked about it," Sensei Wu told him. Kai sighed and let go if the railing.

"I can't believe she said that," Kai told Sensei.

"She's afraid," Sensei said. "She just lost her husband and wants to do everything she can to keep the same thing from happening to the twins."

"But not telling them isn't going to protect them," Kai pointed out.

"No," Sensei agreed. "But the twins are young, she has plenty of time to change her mind."

"If only I hadn't of had my gloves on," Kai sighed. Sensei put his hand on Kai's shoulder.

"That wouldn't have changed anything," he told him. "If anything, it would've made it worse." He gestured to the burns on Kai's hands and arms. Kai sighed. He hadn't even felt the heat through his clothes when he'd been inside the mountain. It wasn't until later that night he'd discovered the burns. Sensei spoke again, this time saying exactly what Kai was afraid to admit.

"Nya knows you did everything you could to save Jay," Sensei said. "She doesn't blame you. And neither should you blame yourself."

"It's hard not to," Kai replied.

"I know," Sensei told him. "I know."

All right, there it is. To tell you the truth, I cried more writing this chapter than I did the other one! The next chapter will probably jump forward a few years. Don't forget to guess which gifts they will get and as always, REVIEW!


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sorry for the long wait. It took me a while to decide where I wanted to take this story next. I've been getting some great ideas but not sure how I'm going to work them into the storyline, so please bear with me. This chapter is more of a filler, but a few of the events are essential to the story. I will try to post the next chapter this weekend, but no promises. Until then, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to review!

Chapter 5

Six years later

The bounty was again anchored in ninjago city harbor. Everything that had anything to do with ninja had been removed from sight on the ship. The onboard training system had been disabled and the door to the bridge was kept locked. None of the ninja wore their uniforms anymore unless they were going on a mission that led them away from ninjago city. The golden weapons were kept locked in their case and kept out of sight in the ninjas' room.

It was early one spring morning and Nya was walking softly down the hallway to the twins' room. Opening the door, she peered into the tiny room. She spotted the twins still lying in the double bed that they shared. As usual, Jayne was lying in bed, looking like she had been awake for awhile. Kailee, however, lay snuggled under the covers, tightly clutching her pillow.

"Good morning, girls!" Nya called cheerily. Jayne sat up and smiled.

"Morning, Mommy!" she replied, as Kailee groaned and rolled over to face the wall.

"Kailee, time to get up, honey," Nya told the dark haired girl. Kailee sighed loudly.

"I'm awake," she said, slowly rolling back over to face her mother and sister.

Nya had walked over to their closet and was now pulling out two outfits for them to wear. Kailee's was a short denim skirt with a red t-shirt that had a yellow smiley face on it. Jayne's outfit was a white t-shirt with a aqua blue jumper that had yellow and white flowers on it. The skirt of the jumper flared out slightly towards the bottom.

"Come on, Kailee. We're going to be late for school!" Jayne told her sister as she jumped off the bed and began to get dressed.

Kailee groaned as she followed her sister's lead and got dressed. She couldn't understand why Jayne was always so excited to go to school. Well, other than the fact that she was good at it. Jayne could make straight A's and not even have to study. Kailee, on the other hand, was barely able keep her grades at C's and she had to spend plenty of time studying do that. The only things that Kailee liked about school were recess and lunchtime.

Once both girls were dressed, Nya sat down in their desk chair and began to fix Jayne's hair. This particular day, Jayne had requested that her mother fix her hair in curly pigtails. Kailee sat on the bed and waited for her mother to finish with her sister. She watched as Nya gently brushed and curled Jayne's long white-blonde hair. She felt her eyes beginning to grow heavy with sleep as she sat there. Kailee shook her head vigorously to rid herself from the sleepy feeling. That worked for the first few seconds, but it wasn't long before the feeling was back.

'Maybe just a little bit of extra sleep won't hurt,' Kailee thought as she laid down on the bed.

Nya finished curling Jayne's hair and tied her blue ribbons around her pigtails. Turning her around, Nya quickly fluffed the short fringe that covered Jayne's forehead.

"All right, Kailee, your turn," she said as Jayne ran off to get her socks and shoes. When she received no response, Nya turned to find her lying on the bed, asleep. "Kailee, come on, honey, wake up," she called as she smiled at her daughter. Kailee's eyes popped open and she scrambled to her feet.

"I'm sorry, Mommy. I didn't mean to fall asleep," the girl told her mother.

"It's all right," Nya assured her gently as she began to brush her jet black hair. "You want your braids today?" Nya asked. Kailee nodded. She always wore her hair in pigtail braids. Nya quickly braided her hair, tying a red ribbon at the end of each braid. She combed the sideways bangs out of Kailee's face, before kissing her cheek and standing to leave the room.

Once out in the hallway, she headed for the kitchen. The delicious aroma of pancakes and sausage told Nya that Zane was cooking breakfast. Sure enough, he was standing at the stove, expertly flipping pancakes.

"Morning, Zane!" Nya said as she entered the kitchen.

"Good morning, Nya," he replied, stopping long enough to turn and smile at her.

"Do you need any help?" Nya asked, surveying the platters of pancakes and sausages. Zane shook his head.

"No thanks, I think I've got it," he said, flipping the last pancake onto the platter with the others. "Actually, you could carry these into the dining room, if you wanted to," he suggested.

"Sure!" Nya said, lifting a platter from the counter and heading out of the kitchen.

She had just set the last platter on the table when she heard Zane call the others for breakfast. Within minutes, the other three ninja and the twins were stampeding into the room, followed slowly by Sensei and Zane. Kai held a squirming Kailee in his arms.

"Let me go!" she yelled, struggling to break free from her uncle's grasp.

"Not until you say 'uncle Kai is the best,'" Kai told her. She grunted, but refused to say what he asked her to.

"What happened?" Nya asked, not at all surprised by Kai and Kailee's argument.

"Kailee was making fun of Kai so he grabbed her," Cole informed her. Nya laughed. She could only imagine what Kailee had been saying. Both the twins loved their uncle, but Kailee was closer to him.

Nya's thoughts were interrupted by Kai's shout of "Ow!" She turned to see him rubbing his shin and Kailee running to her spot at the table. There was a proud look on her face.

"She kicked me," Kai told them. The other ninja began laughing.

"Poor, Kai, got best up by a little girl," Cole teased him.

"Maybe you'd better not play with her if you're going to get hurt," Lloyd added.

"I'm serious, guys. You let her kick you and see how you like it," Kai told them. "She kicks harder than Cole." He caught himself and stopped before he said any more. the others stopped laughing and Nya turned to Kailee.

"Kailee Marie Walker!" She scolded her daughter. "That is no way for a young lady to act. Apologize to your uncle right now!"

"But Momma-" Kailee started but Nya cut her off.

"Now!" she told her. Kailee dropped her head.

"Sorry Uncle Kai," the girl said quietly.

"It's all right, honey," Kai assured her. "You didn't hurt me too bad. Nothing permanent, at least." He was trying to make a joke out of the situation, but Nya's warning glare stopped him. All of them knew why Kailee was so strong. Nya knew that Kailee would find out one day, but she was too young right then.

A few minutes later, the previous conflict had been forgotten as they watched Kai and Lloyd start a contest as to which one if the could eat more pancakes first.

"Come on, uncle Kai! You can beat him," Jayne encouraged.

"Uncle Lloyd's catching up. You'd better hurry," Kailee added. Kai was ahead so far with ten pancakes and Lloyd had eaten eight. The others added their cheering as the piles of pancakes decreased.

"Oh, I'm stuffed," Kai groaned as he finished up his fifteenth one. He sat back in his chair and looked at Lloyd who was still eating. "Your not full yet?" he asked him. Lloyd was up to eighteen pancakes.

"I think I can eat one more," he replied, and he did. "Now I'm stuffed," he announced.

"Looks like Lloyd is the winner," Zane said.

"You could've beat him, uncle Kai, if you hadn't have stopped," Kailee told her uncle. The others laughed and Kai groaned.

"You two had better hurry up. The bus'll be here soon," Nya reminded the twins. Both of them quickly cleaned their plates and downed the last of their milk, just as they heard a loud honk outside.

"Bye, Momma," Kailee said, kissing her cheek.

"Bye, Kailee," her mother replied. "Be good and NO fighting." Kailee nodded.

"Yes ma'am," she answered, as she went to tell the others bye.

"Bye, Mommy, love you," Jayne said as she kissed her cheek.

"Bye, Jaynie, love you too," Nya told her. "Make sure your sister stays out of trouble." Jayne nodded. She picked up her books and started for the door where Kailee was waiting for her.

"Hey, don't I get a hug?" Kai asked her, sticking his bottom lip out and pretending to be upset. Jayne giggled and stopped to hug him.

"Bye, Uncle Kai," she said.

"Bye, sweetheart," he replied.

"Don't forget us!" Cole told Jayne as she let go of Kai. Smiling, she went to hug each of the ninja and Sensei before dashing out the door behind her sister.

Nya stood in the doorway and watched the two of them run down the dock to the yellow school bus. They climbed onto it, Jayne stopping to wave at her mother.

When the bell finally rang for recess, most of the children were more than ready for the break. They rushed outdoors and onto the playground, each hurrying to do what they liked best. Kailee, Jayne, and three other children ran for the monkey bars.

"I bet I can beat you across!" Kailee taunted one of the boys. The boy, Tyler, jumped at her challenge.

"You beat me? Never!" he retorted, joining Kailee on the monkey bars. They raced across, Tyler beating her just by a few seconds. "See? I told you that you couldn't beat me," he told her proudly.

"Hey, let's play a game," Ayana, Jayne's best friend said.

"All right, what do you want to play?" the other boy, Zach, asked.

"Tag?" Ayana suggested.

"We always play that!" Tyler protested.

"How bout red rover?" Jayne suggested.

"No!" Kailee said.

"I know what we can play!" Zach told them.

"What?" the others asked.

"Ninja!" he said.

"Yeah!" Tyler agreed.

"Ninja?" Jayne asked.

"Yeah," Tyler replied.

"What are ninja?" Kailee asked. The other three stopped and looked at her.

"You don't know about the ninja?" Ayana said, surprised. The twins shook their heads.

"The ninja save people who are in trouble. Most of the time its from these evil snakes called Serpentine. They live on this flying ship and when they spin around, they look like colored tornados," Zach told them. "Daddy was telling me last night how they saved the city from a giant snake and from an evil dragon who was turning everyone evil."

"Wow!" Kailee replied, amazed. "They sound so cool! How many ninja are there?"

"Five," Ayana answered. "Each ninja has a special power, but the fifth one can do all the powers."

"You wanna play ninja?" Tyler asked. Jayne nodded.

"Yes!" Kailee exclaimed.

"All right!" the two boys shouted.

"Let's see, Kailee you be the red ninja, since you've got a red shirt on. Ayana, you've got a white dress on so you be the white ninja and Jayne's the blue ninja," Tyler told them.

"Which ones are you two?" Jayne asked the boys.

"He's the black ninja and I'm the green ninja," Zach replied.

"Oh no, I'm the green ninja," Tyler told Zach.

"But I wanted to be the green ninja!" Zach said.

"I'm the oldest," Tyler reminded him as if that settled it. "And it was my idea." Zach grumbled under his breath but didn't protest anymore.

"What are our powers?" Kailee asked.

"Yours is fire, Ayana's is ice, Jayne's is lightning, and Zach's is earth," Tyler answered. "And I can control all of them." He looked around the playground and pretended to spy someone in trouble. "Oh, look! The Serpentine are attacking those people!"

"Let's go help them!" Zach yelled and the five of them took of running towards the imaginary serpentine.

For the rest of recess, the five 'ninja' continued to rescue imaginary people from various dangers.

Later that night, everybody was sitting in the dining room eating dinner. Or more like poking at it. It had been Cole's turn to cook.

"What is this stuff?" Lloyd asked, using his fork to poke at the burnt meat and colored mush on his plate.

"Pork chops and vegetables," Cole replied. "The pork chops are just a little well done." The others laughed.

"I'd say the vegetables are too," Kai told him. Cole pretended to look hurt.

"I think I know how to make it at least taste a little better," Zane said as he left the room and returned a few minutes later with some sauce. "Here, put this over it," he told Lloyd.

"Wow, that stuff is amazing!" Lloyd exclaimed after pouring Zane's sauce over his meat and vegetable mush. "What's in this sauce?"Zane smiled.

"It's a secret family recipe," he replied, passing the sauce to the others at the table.

"Momma, did you ever hear of the ninja?" Kailee asked out of the blue. The entire table grew silent in surprise. Everyone waited to hear how Nya would answer her question.

"Where did you hear about them?" she asked her daughter in a firm tone. From her mother's tone, Kailee knew she probably shouldn't have asked that question.

"We were playing at recess today and Tyler suggested we play ninja," Kailee began.

"We didn't know what he was talking about so he and Zach and Arial told us about them," Jayne continued.

"What did they tell you?" Nya asked, trying to mask her fears about how much they knew.

"Zach said that they live in a flying ship and save people from these evil snakes called Serpentine," Kailee told her mother.

"He even told us about how they saved the city from a giant snake and from an evil dragon that was turning everything evil," Jayne added.

"And when they spin in circles, they look like colored tornados. And they have special powers and can control different things," Kailee said.

"Yeah, like Kailee was the red ninja and Tyler said he controls fire," Jayne told them.

"And Tyler said Jaynie was the blue ninja she could shoot lightning-"

"I don't want to hear any more about these ninja," Nya interrupted their excitement. Her voice was low and her tone was firm. But there was something in her voice that the twins had never heard before. They didn't know it, but it was fear.

"But, Momma-" Jayne started, but Nya cut in.

"Don't you 'But, Momma,' me, Jayne Ann Walker," she said. "I don't want to ever hear you talk about them again. And I definitely don't want to hear you pretending to be one. Do you hear me?" The twins nodded, eyes wide in surprise at the firmness in her voice.

"Yes, ma'am," they answered.

"All right, then," she said. "Finish eating your dinner." The girls did as they were told, but the mood of the entire table had changed. No one was laughing; everyone ate in silence. After a few minutes, Nya couldn't stand it any longer. "Excuse me," she said as she pushed away from the table.

She hurried down the hall to her room, barely able to hold back her tears. Once in her room, she leaned against the closed door and let them come. She looked over at the picture on her nightstand. It was of Jay and her on their wedding day. It was the only picture of Jay that she had where he wasn't wearing his ninja uniform.

Crossing over to the bed, she sat down and picked up the picture. More than anything, she wished Jay could be there with her. She wanted to raise the twins the way she felt he would want her to, but she also wanted to protect them.

"Oh, Jay, what should I do?" she asked out loud, not excepting an answer. But just as she said it, her gaze happened to fall upon another picture. She smiled as she saw it. "Yes, that's it," she said.

There was a soft knock on the door.

"Come in," Nya called as she set her and Jay's wedding picture back on the nightstand. She looked up as Kai entered.

"You all right?" he asked, concerned. His sister nodded. "The girls were afraid you were mad at them."

"I'm not mad at them," Nya replied. She stood to her feet. "I'd better go talk to them."

"Are you going to tell them about us being ninja?" he asked. She shook her head. He sighed. "Nya, if you don't tell them, they're going to find out from someone else sooner or later."

"I know that. I will tell them one day, when they're old enough. Right now, they wouldn't understand the importance of the prophecy. You heard them, they think being a ninja is all fun and heroism," Nya told him. Kai nodded.

"But how are you going to keep them from learning about it from the kids at school?" he wondered.

"I think I'll call Jay's parents in the morning and see if we could stay with them," Nya told him. "They're always begging us to stay longer whenever we visit." Kai stared at her, trying to process what his sister had just said.

"You mean, move in with them?" He finally asked. Nya nodded and turned away from him.

"It wouldn't be for forever, just for a little while," she clarified. "And you guys can come visit whenever you want." Her voice was thick with unshed tears. This meant leaving her home, her best friends, and worst of all her brother. She quickly thought back over her life. Kai had always been there for her. Often, he tended to be a little overprotective of her, but that was just his way of showing that he cared about her. And now she had to leave him in order to keep her daughters from learning the truth.

"Nya, are you sure?" Kai's voice was soft and even though she couldn't see him, she could hear the sadness in his voice. Nya nodded.

"It will be easier on everyone this way. You guys won't have to worry about forgetting your weapons or your uniforms out, or accidentally saying something that might give away the fact that you're ninja," she explained. They were silent a moment before Kai spoke.

"If that's what you think is best," he told her. Nya whirled around to face him, desperately trying to keep control of her emotions.

"But I don't know what's best!" she confessed to him. "All I know is that I have to protect the twins and this is the only solution I can come up with." She stopped and sighed loudly. "I wish Jay were here," she said quietly. Kai stepped forwards and opened his arms as Nya moved into them.

As soon as she felt the warmth of his embrace, she lost the battle with her emotions. The tears began rolling down her cheeks uncontrollably as she sobbed into her brother's shoulder. Kai's heart broke for his sister, wishing there were something he could do to make this easier on her. He held her in his arms until she had finished her cry. It wasn't until she pulled away and began wiping her eyes that he finally spoke.

"I'll support whatever you decide to do," he assured her. "I know you'll be safe with Jay's parents and they'll take good care of all of you. And I'll be checking in on you often." Nya smiled at him.

"Thanks, Kai," she said, kissing his cheek. She sniffled loudly. "I'd better go tuck the girls into bed. We've got a big day tomorrow."

Ok, so what do you think about Nya and the twins leaving the Bounty to go live with Jay's parents? The next chapter will probably jump a few years and I hope to give you some action in it. Let me know if theirs something you would like to see happen and I might try to put it into the story! So please, Review!


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

All right here's the next chapter. This one mostly follows the twins. I hope you enjoy this as much as I had fun writing it!

Chapter 6

Seven Years Later

The twins were now thirteen years old and they, along with Nya, they were still living with Jay's parents. Kai and the other ninja visited often and the girls looked forward to their visits.

One summer morning, Jayne woke up early as usual. She lay in bed for a moment, thinking. Suddenly, she sat up right, remembering something. Next to her, Kailee groaned. She still wasn't a morning person. Jayne gently shook her awake.

"What is it?" Kailee growled out, her eyes still closed.

"Uncle Kai and the others are coming to visit today!" Jayne reminded her.

"What time is it?" Kailee asked. Jayne leaned over her sister to see the clock on the nightstand.

"Eight o'clock," Jayne told her. Kailee sighed loudly.

"Jaynie, they won't be here until sometime after noon. I don't we to get up for another hour," she said, snuggling deeper under the covers and covering her head with the pillow. But Jayne wasn't giving up that easily. Removing the pillow from her sister's head, she said,

"Grandpa wants to finish his machine today before they get here, and maybe he'll let us help." Kailee sighed.

"All right I'm getting up," she told her, finally opening her eyes. Jayne climbed over her and jumped off the bed.

"Do you have to bounce on the bed?" Kailee asked.

"Sorry, but I sleep next to the wall so I have to climb over you to get out," Jayne reminded her grouchy sister.

"Felt like a herd of elephants were on here," Kailee groaned. Jayne giggled. Kailee was always grumpy in the morning.

Jayne changed out of her blue and white nightgown and into her knee length pleated white skirt and aqua blue collared shirt. The skirt had a blue and yellow flower appliqué on one side and the shirt had white and yellow flower one the opposite side which trailed across to the sleeve on the other side. She quickly brushed her waist length white blonde hair and expertly braided it into a single braid that hung down her back. After tying the end with her yellow ribbon, she fluffed the thin fringe of bangs that curled over her forehead. Smiling at her self in the mirror, she decided she was satisfied. She glanced at Kailee, still in bed, as she turned to leave the room.

As soon as she left the bedroom, she headed for the kitchen, where the smell of coffee was drifting from. Entering the room, she saw her mother and grandparents sitting at the table, each drinking a cup of coffee.

"Good morning!" Jayne said, pouring herself a bowl of cereal.

"Morning, dear," Edna, her grandmother replied.

"Did you sleep well?" Nya asked as Jayne joined them at the table.

"Yes ma'am," she answered.

"Where's Kailee? She awake yet?" her grandfather, Ed asked.

"She's awake, but she's still in bed," Jayne said. "Or at least she was when I left the room."

"You plan on working on that thing this morning, Ed?" Edna asked. Ed had been building some new machine, but lately he'd been having a lot of problems with it.

"Yep, gotta work out bugs on it," he replied. "I was hoping to have it finished before Kai and the others showed up, but I'm not sure I will."

"Can I help, Grandpa?" Jayne asked.

"Sure, I'd love to have you help,"he told her. Kailee entered the kitchen just then. "Your sister can help too if she wants."

"You talking about your machine?" Kailee guessed. Ed nodded. "I'll help," she said.

An hour later found Ed and the girls working on his machine. Well, the girls really were just handing him parts and tools. Jayne had a blue coverup on over her outfit and Kailee had a black one. She had pulled her hair up into her traditional ponytail and tied it with a red ribbon.

"Hand me that doohickey over there, please, Jaynie," Ed asked, pointing to a funny looking part lying on the ground. Jayne handed it to him. "Thank you," he said.

"Grandpa?" Jayne asked.

"Uh-huh?" he said.

"Did our daddy used to help you like this?" she wondered.

"Yes, he did," ed answered. "Actually, he was about your age when he started getting interested in mechanics and building machines." He laughed. "I remember the first thing he built. A robot."

"Did it work?" Kailee asked. Ed nodded.

"For a few minutes," he told them. "It took a few steps then froze up, face planting in the dirt."

"What was wrong with it?" Jayne asked.

"He had short circuited it," Ed replied.

"Why didn't he stay and help you build things when he got older?" Kailee asked. Ed was silent for a minute.

"Well, as he got older, he kinda got embarrassed by the fact that he was born in a junkyard," he told them. "So he moved out and began to build inventions on his own."

"Did he ever build anything that worked?" Jayne asked.

"Oh, yes," Ed said. "He built several gliders and different robots and a few other odds and ends." For a few minutes they were silent, the only sounds heard were the ones made by the tools Ed was using as he leaned over into the machine.

"Grandpa?" Kailee asked.

"Yes?" he answered.

"What else did daddy do besides build things," Kailee asked. Ed was quiet for a moment, as he tried to think of how to answer.

"Well, as he always said, he did some cooking, a little poetry, and dabbled in some inventing," he finally said, hoping that would satisfy their questions about that subject. "Could you hand me that thingamabob over there?" Kailee handed him the screwdriver he'd been pointing at.

"How come there's not many pictures of daddy?" Jayne wondered.

"Yeah, I think we've only seen a total five different pictures," Kailee added.

"What are you talking about? There's plenty of pictures of your father," Ed replied.

"When he was younger," Jayne said. "We're talking about when he was older."

"Oh, well, your daddy wasn't one for pictures," Ed told them. "In fact, he hated getting his picture taken."

"But still, I would've thought there would be more than five pictures," Kailee said.

"Why don't you ask your grandmother about that, I don't know," Ed suggested. "If there are others, she's probably put them up in the attic." The girls were silent for a moment, before Kailee spoke up.

"Do you still need our help, grandpa?" she asked.

"No, I think I can manage all right," he replied.

"Ok, bye grandpa!" Kailee said as she grabbed Jayne's hand and ran off, pulling her along behind her.

"Kailee, slow down! Where are we going?" Jayne asked. Kailee stopped running and faced her sister.

"Did you notice the way grandpa's tools kept slipping?" Jayne nodded.

"So?" she asked.

"He only does that when he's nervous," Kailee pointed out.

"But would he be nervous about?" Jayne asked.

"Maybe the fact that we were asking questions about Dad," Kailee suggested. "I mean think about it. In all of our thirteen years, we barely know anything about him and whenever we start asking questions, they either change the subject or they give us answers that don't make since." Jayne thought for a moment.

"Yeah, I guess your right," she agreed. "So what do you have in mind?"

"Well, you heard grandpa. He said that grandma had probably put the other pictures up in the attic," Kailee said.

"Correction, he said IF there were others, she had probably put them up there," Jayne reminded her.

"Whatever," Kailee said. "But I'll bet there's more up there than just pictures. I'll bet there's something up there that can tell us what everyone's been hiding from us all these years."

"I don't know," Jayne said. "Maybe there's a good reason for them hiding whatever it is from us."

"What good reason ?" Kailee asked. "He was our father and in my mind that's as good a reason as any to find out what's being hid." She paused for a moment. "You game?" she asked her sister. Jayne sighed.

"Yeah, I'm game, but if we get in trouble, this was your idea," she told Kailee, who smiled.

"Trust me, we won't get caught," Kailee promised.

"Somehow, that doesn't make me feel better," Jayne replied, earning a glare from her sister. Kailee was always coming up with ideas and pulling Jayne into them. In the end, they almost always got caught and punished.

The twins snuck in the back door of the house and quietly made their way upstairs. Carefully, Kailee slowly opened the attic door just wide enough for them to squeeze through before shutting it behind them. Once inside, they surveyed the messy room.

"Where do you think we should start?" Jayne asked, turning on the light. Kailee was silent for a minute before spying an trunk.

"This looks promising," she said, removing the stuff on top of it.

One hour and many trunks and boxes later, neither twin had uncovered anything that gave them any clue to the information they were looking for. Jayne was about ready to give up and though she wouldn't admit it, Kailee felt the the same way.

"Let's just check this last trunk," Kailee told Jayne.

"Are you sure we haven't gone through that one already?" Jayne asked, eyeing the trunk carefully."

"No, but its worth a try," Kailee told her. She opened the wooden lid and pulled out several old books that were sitting on top. Jayne picked them up.

"Mechanics for Dummies, Basic Electricity, How to Build the Perfect Robot," she read off the titles out loud. When she read the last title, she curiously flipped through it. "I wonder which one of these robots Dad built," she said. Finding a dog-eared page, she paused and began to scan the page. "I bet this is the one he made," she told Kailee, who looked over her shoulder.

"A sparring bot?" Kailee read, puzzled. "But why would he build a sparring bot?"

"I don't know, but the page was turned down," Jayne replied.

"Hm," Kailee said as she turned her attention back to the trunk. She finished removing the rest of the things from the trunk. "Guess there's nothing useful in here," she sighed.

"Wait!" Jayne said. She reached inside the trunk and tugged at the edge of a piece of paper that was just barely visible in the corner. The edge tore off in her hand. "I think there's a false bottom on this trunk," she told Kailee.

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

"Well, look," Jayne replied, putting one hand on the floor and d the other one on the bottom of the trunk.

"Hey, maybe you're right!" Kailee agreed. Jayne began feeling around inside the trunk for a way to open the bottom.

"I can't find anyway to open it," she told Kailee.

"I have an idea," Kailee said, standing to her feet. She stepped inside the trunk and stomped on the bottom. A cracking sound was heard as the wood at the bottom split.

"Well, that's one way to do it," Jayne remarked as Kailee stepped out of the trunk and knelt beside her.

Carefully, they removed the wood pieces from the trunk. Below was an old, weatherbeaten book and several paper wrapped parcels. Kailee removed the book and opened the cover, with Jayne peering over her shoulder. Both of the gasped at what they saw inside.

What do you think they saw? What do you think the book is? Do you think they find out about the ninja? Let me know in the reviews what you think the answers to these questions are. Hope you enjoyed this!


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

All right, here's the next chapter! A few of you probably guessed what the girls found in the book, but you have no idea what else is in store for them! This is were the action starts happening so I hope you enjoy and don't forget to review!

Chapter 7

The twins opened the book and gasped at what they saw. On the first page of the book was a picture of Jay in his full ninja attire with Nya snuggled up against him. Above the picture were the words, Jay and Nya Forever. Below that was the date of their wedding.

"Dad is wearing a, a-" Jayne started, surprised.

"Ninja suit," Kailee finished.

"Yeah, but why?" Jayne wondered. Kailee shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know, maybe they were going to a costume party or maybe it was Halloween," she suggested. "Look at the way Mom's dressed. Her dress looks pretty funny!" Kailee added as she noticed the low-neck, sleeveless red dress Nya was wearing in the picture. It was covered in ruffles that were accented with silver and black sequins and lace. Jayne giggled.

Kailee turned the page. The next page had pictures of their parents wedding. As the twins continued to look through the book, they found several pictures of Jay in a ninja suit. In one picture, he was standing next to four other guys in ninja suits, but all of their hoods except for Jay's were down so that their faces were not visible.

"I don't think all these pictures are from a costume party," Jayne told her sister.

"I think you're right, but it doesn't make since," Kailee said. "Why would dad be wearing a ninja suit unless he was a-"

"Ninja!" both girls exclaimed together. They looked at each other with eyes wide in amazement.

"That must be it!" Kailee said.

"But why would they keep it a secret from us?" Jayne wondered. Kailee shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know," she replied. They flipped back through the book.

"Wait a minute," Jayne said as Kailee was about to turn the page again.

"What?" Kailee asked.

"Look at that picture," Jayne said, pointing at a picture of Jay and Nya in front of a little cave in the side of a cliff. Inside the cave was set up as a little workshop. The caption below the picture stated that the cave was their special work place, because not many people knew that the cave existed.

"Doesn't that look like part of the cliffs near here?" Jayne asked her sister. Kailee studied it thoughtfully.

"I guess it does," she admitted. "But I've never seen a cave in any of them."

"Maybe that's because you didn't know to look for one," Jayne pointed out.

"That's true," Kailee agreed. They finished looking through the book before Kailee closed it and set it on the floor. She reached in the trunk and pulled out the smallest of the packages.

"I don't think you should open that," Jayne told Kailee, warily.

"Why not?" Kailee asked, her hand pausing on the string.

"Because its not ours," Jayne reminded her.

"No but it they're gonna keep all this a secret from us, we're just gonna have to do a snooping to find out what we want to know," Kailee said. She pulled the string loose and unwrapped a small velvet covered box.

"I still say you shouldn't do that," Jayne told her as Kailee flipped open the top of the box. Inside lay the two most beautiful pendants the girls had ever seen. They were each attached to a tiny, carefully made chain. Slowly, Kailee reached her finger put and touched one of the red gems on the golden pendant.

Immediately, the pendant began to glow brightly.

"Kailee, what did you do?" Jayne asked in a scared voice.

"I just barely touched it!" Kailee informed her sister. The necklace continued to glow and it seemed that it was steadily growing brighter. As Kailee brought it closer to Jayne, the other pendant began glowing as well. The girls eyes were wide.

"I, I think you should put those back in the trunk," Jayne nervously suggested. Kailee nodded and closed the box, wrapping

it back up and placing it at the bottom of the box.

"Well, that was unusual," She remarked.

"I told you that you shouldn't have opened that box," Jayne reminded her.

"Nothing bad happened so just calm down," Kailee said. she looked at the other packages in the trunk, debating on whether to open them or not.

"I think we should leave the others alone," Jayne told her, reading her thoughts. Kailee thought for a few more minutes, then nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, you're right. We've been in here too long. I'm surprised no one's come looking for us," Kailee said, beginning to place the other things back into the trunk. Jayne joined in and soon the attic was back to the way they had found it before they started digging through boxes and trunks.

Quietly, they left the attic, closing the door behind them.

"What do you want to do?" Kailee asked. Jayne thought for a moment.

"We could see if Grandpa needs anymore help," she suggested.

"Well, I have a better idea," Kailee said. Jayne looked at her, seeing the mischievous gleam in her eyes.

"I'm not sure I want to hear it," she replied.

"You know that picture we found in the attic, the one with dad's cave workshop in it?" She waited for Jayne to nod before continuing. "Let's see if we can find it."

"But, the cliffs are off-limits for us to go by ourselves," Jayne reminded her sister.

"No one would know that we went there," Kailee promised. "We'd be back in plenty of time before uncle Kai and the others get here.

"I don't know," Jayne said, her voice skeptical.

"Come on, Jaynie! Don't be a stick in the mud! Lets go of something fun!" Kailee told her. Jayne sighed.

"All right," she said, agreeing to her sister's plan. "But what are we going to say if mom or grandma and grandpa ask what we're going to do?"

"You let me handle that," Kailee told her with confidence, as they headed down the stairs. Nya met the at the bottom.

"There you two are," she said. "I thought you were still helping your grandfather."

"We were but he didn't need our help anymore," Kailee replied.

"Oh, well, lunch is ready. You'd better get cleaned up," Nya told them. The girls looked down at themselves and realized they were still wearing their coverups over their outfits.

"Yes ma'am," Jayne replied as she turned to go back upstairs.

"Mom, can me and Jayne take our lunch with us and have a picnic?" Kailee asked, causing Jayne to pause on the stairs."

"Where are you going?" their mother asked.

"We was going to our playhouse," the dark haired girl replied.

"All right, but don't wander off too far, uncle Kai and the others will be here soon," Nya said. Kailee hugged her.

"Thanks mom!" she said, excitedly, before running up the stairs after Jayne.

Within five minutes later, both girls had removed their coverups and packed both of their lunches in Nya's picnic basket and were headed towards the playhouse. Once they were out of sight of the house, they changed directions and continued to the cliffs.

It was about a ten minute walk to the first cliff.

"All right, lets start looking," Kailee told her sister.

"What are we looking for?" Jayne asked.

"Anything that looks like it could be hiding a cave," Kailee reminded her and Jayne nodded.

After an hour's worth of searching the cliffs, neither twin was closer to discovering the cave. Tired, they sat down to eat their lunch.

"I'm beginning to think that the cave isn't in any of these cliffs," Jayne told Kailee as she took a bite of her sandwich.

"No, it's gotta be here somewheres," Kailee insisted. "We're just not looking hard enough."

"Not looking hard enough!" Jayne repeated. "Kailee, we've been scouring our inch of these cliffs."

"I know, but there's got to be something that we're overlooking," Kailee replied.

"Yeah, but what?" Jayne wondered.

Suddenly, they were surrounded by strange looking snakes that walked upright. Jayne squealed in fright and grabbed her sister, both of their eyes wide in surprise. The snake with the tail slithered forward.

"How about ussss?" he suggested with a flick of his tongue.

Meanwhile, Kai, Cole, and Zane had arrived at the junkyard.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Kai yelled, after not seeing anyone. The door to the house opened and Nya ran towards him.

"Kai!" she exclaimed. Her brother caught her and gave her a hug.

"It's good to see you all again," Ed told them. He and Edna had followed Nya out of the house.

"It's good to see you again too," Zane said.

"Aren't you missing a couple?" Edna asked.

"Sensei and Lloyd stayed with the Bounty," Cole informed them.

"Where's the girls?" Kai wondered, looking around for any sign of his nieces.

"They went to have a picnic in their playhouse. They should be back soon," Nya told him.

"You guys are probably hungry," Edna guessed.

"Yes ma'am!" Cole assured her, causing the others to laugh.

"Well come on inside and Edna will fix you all something to eat," Ed told them.

An hour later, they were sitting in the living room talking about the ninjas' recent adventures with the serpentine.

"To tell you the truth, we didn't just come here to see all of you," Cole told the others. He was seated in one of the lounge chairs. Zane was in another chair on his left and Kai and Nya shared the couch on his right. Ed and Edna were seated on the love seat across from Cole and Zane.

"What do you mean?" Nya asked.

"We've been tracking the serpentine movements lately and from what we can tell, they should be somewhere around here," Kai explained. "We figured that when we leave here, we can scout out the area to try and figure out where they are going next."

"I would've thought the girls would be back by now," Edna said, walking over to look out of the window.

"Did they know we were coming?" Kai asked.

"Yes, they've been looking forward to it all week," Nya answered. "I told them not wander off too far."

"They were up early this morning to help me with my machine," Ed said. "I was trying to finish before you guys came but it still has more problems than I thought it did."

During this conversation, Zane had been unusually silent, staring straight ahead at nothing in a very focused way.

"Zane, is something wrong?" Cole asked. When the white ninja didn't respond, he gently tapped his shoulder. "Zane?" Zane jerked out of his trance and turned to face Cole.

"Yes, I'm sorry, what did you say?" he asked.

"I asked if something was wrong," Cole repeated. Zane was silent a moment before answering.

"I don't know," he finally answered.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Kai asked, knowing that the white ninja knew more than he was admitting.

"I am sensing danger," Zane told them. "The Serpentine are nearby."

"Is it the twins?" Nya asked, standing to her feet, a worried expression on her face. Zane looked at her and nodded.

"I think so," he said. The ninja jumped to their feet.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Lets go!" Cole exclaimed as they ran out of the house.

"Ninja Go!" the three ninja yelled twirling into their spinjitsu tornados. When they stopped spinning, all three of them were dressed in their uniforms. Cole opened the weapons case and grabbed his giant golden scythe and the others followed suit. Nya grabbed Kai's arm, stopping him before he could turn his sword into his blade cycle.

"I'm coming too," she told him. He shook his head.

"No, it's too dangerous," Kai replied.

"I used to fight the serpentine with you guys all the time before the twins were born," Nya reminded him.

"Yeah, but you were inside the samurai suit," her brother added.

"Kai, please, let me come," Nya begged sweetly.

"Nya, you are staying here and that's final!" Kai told his sister as he wrenched his arm out of her grasp and turned away from her. Nya quickly stepped in front of him and pointed her finger at him.

"Either you let me come with you, or I will follow you by myself!" she threatened, glaring at him. 'Sometimes his protective side is so annoying,' Nya thought.

The two of them stood there, staring each other down. After a few minutes, Zane spoke up.

"Kai, just let her come," he told the fiery red ninja. "You should know by now that whenever it comes to a stare down between the two of you, Nya always wins."

Kai continued to glare at Nya for a few seconds before he sighed and gave in.

"All right, come on," he told her. "But I want you to stay behind us and no wandering off on your own no matter what happens. Understand?" Kai waited for her response. Knowing that anything but her agreement might cause him to change his mind and would waste extra time, Nya simply nodded. Satisfied, Kai quickly turned his sword into his blade cycle and waited for Nya to climb onto the back.

"Where to, Zane?" Cole asked the white ninja over the radio.

"The cliffs," was Zane's quick reply.

"All right, let's go!" Cole said, his tread assault leading the others out of the junkyard.

As the three ninja vehicles sped off towards the cliffs, Nya silently prayed that they would not be too late.

Oh no! The girls are surrounded by serpentine! What do you think happens? Will Nya and the ninja get there in time? And what do the serpentine want with the twins? So much for Kailee's promise that they wouldn't get caught! Please tell me your thoughts in the reviews!


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Two chapters in one day! I am so excited! This chapter was really easy so it didn't take me that long. Hopefully I'll be able to finish the next chapter by Monday. But until then, enjoy!

Chapter 8

In fear, Kailee and Jayne clung to each other, staring up at the serpentine with wide eyes. Scales laughed evilly.

"What do we have here?" he said more than asked. "You two wouldn't happen to be losssst would you?"

"What do you want with us?" Kailee demanded, jumping to her feet, her eyes flashing angrily. The serpentine general laughed.

"My, my, ssssuch a temper," he remarked, pushing her back on the ground with the end of his staff. Kailee fell down beside her sister, her temper anything but quelled. Jayne sat huddled against the rock wall, her eyes wide with fear.

"Let us go!" Kailee commanded them as she began to again rise to her feet. "If you hurt us, our family will come after you!" By this time, she was standing about a foot in front of Scales, her finger pointed at him as she threatened. This time, the snake did not laugh.

"Be quiet and ssssit down there like your sssissster!" he told Kailee as he roughly pushed her down next to Kailee. Jayne knew that his actions were only fueling her twin's temper. She reached over to grab Kailee's hand and give it a quick squeeze. Kailee's flaming red eyes met Jayne's cool ice blue ones. For a second, the two stared into each other's eyes, as if reading the other's thoughts. Finally, Kailee sighed and nodded, her eyes no longer flaming. Satisfied that Kailee was cooled off for now, Jayne turned her attention to the serpentine who were still surrounding them.

"Sssso now that we've caught them, what are we ssssupposssed to do with them?" one of the constrictai asked.

"We mussst hurry before the otherssss misssss them," a venomari serpent replied.

"By now the ninja have probably figured out where we are and I wouldn't be sssurprised if they were on their way here right now," another constrictai added.

"Yeah, thossse ninja alwaysss end up ruining everything," one of the fangpire reminded them.

"Enough talk!" Scales cut off any further comments for the moment. "We have to get these two back before those pesky ninja show up."

"But, sssir," one of the hypnobrai spoke up. "Our ordersss were to only capture one of them. What are we going to with the other one?"

"We could let her go," a fangpire suggested. He roughly dragged Jayne to her feet. "Let's bring this one to her. The other one's too much of a hassle." Jayne stood there stiff as the red serpent tightly squeezed her arm.

"No!" Scales said. "We cannot let either of them go or the one that getssss away will run back and tell the otherssss what happened." The other serpentine nodded in agreement. "Tie them both up and let'ssss get going," Scales commanded.

Both girls soon had their hands tied behind their backs and were being herded through the cliffs, away from the junkyard. With each step, the twins' hope of being rescued began to disappear. Jayne's shoulders were hunched and her head was down in defeat, but Kailee's hot temper was beginning to flare up again. Her eyes flashed angrily as she scanned their surroundings, watching for a chance to escape.

By now, they had entered the forest. Large bushes lined the trail on either side along with tall trees and various other thick foliage. There were a few birds singing in the trees overhead. But one bird call was different. Kailee listened carefully, trying to follow the call with her eyes to find the bird it came from.

'It seems to be coming from the bushes up ahead,' she thought to herself. As she studied the bushes, she thought she saw a flash of red. 'Could it be?" she wondered, excitement rising inside her. A few seconds later, a she spotted some black in a bush across the trail from the first one, then a bit of white from the trees above. A tiny smile appeared on her face before she caught herself.

Just as the serpentine passed the spot on the trail where the ninja were hiding, all three ninja jumped out at them. To Kailee's surprise, the three men who jumped out were dressed in ninja suits instead of the casual clothed uncles she'd thought she saw.

"And just where do you think you're going?" the black one asked as the three stood in their battle stances. 'Strange, he sounds like Uncle Cole," Kailee thought to herself as she watched the three of them. The other two looked at the black one.

"Really? That's all you could come up with?" the one in red asked in disgust. 'Uncle Kai?' Jayne wondered. The voice sounded the same. The black one shrugged.

"It was still better than yours," he replied.

"Ninja!" Scales yelled. "Attack!"

Before long, all the serpentine were too busy fighting the ninja to think about the twins. They stood in awe watching as the outnumbered ninja began rapidly defeating the serpentine. Unnoticed by anyone, Nya snuck from behind a bush to grab the girls' arms.

"This way, girls, quickly!" she whispered to them. Kailee and Jayne followed their mother as she led them out of the forest and behind the first cliff. She quickly cut the ropes that bound their hands. "Are you both all right?" she asked, surveying them with her eyes. Both girls nodded.

"How did you know where we were?" Jayne wondered.

"I'll explain later," Nya replied as she opened a flap on the bracelet she wore. The girls watched in surprise as their mother called someone on her 'bracelet radio.' "Kai, are you there?" Nya asked. A few seconds later, static was heard followed by a voice.

"Nya, are you all right?" Kai's voice asked. She nodded, even though he couldn't see her.

"We're fine. We're at the cliffs," she told him.

"Wait there. We'll be finished here soon," he replied.

"Right," Nya answered, closing the radio flap on her bracelet.

"Mom? That was Uncle Kai back there?" Kailee asked in surprise. Nya sighed.

"Yes, Kailee, it was," she confirmed.

"But that means that they are-" Jayne started and Kailee joined in, "ninja." Their mother nodded.

"Yes," she said. They were silent for a moment before Jayne spoke up.

"Momma, was Daddy a ninja too?" she asked. Nya looked at them and nodded again.

"Yes, he was," she replied.

"I don't understand, Mother," Kailee began. "Why did you keep all of this a secret from us?" Nya turned away from the twins and sighed.

"It's a long story. I think it should wait until everyone is together before it is retold," she said as she spotted the ninja approaching.

How do you think the twins will react? Will they accept the prophecy or resent it? And what about the serpentine? how do you think the master will react to them failing thier orders? Also if you read carefully, I dropped a tiny hint about the master bad guy aka the shadow. Don't forget to tell me what you think in the reviews!


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

All right, here's the next chapter. For the next chapter I will need some kind of a special saying or catch phrase for the twins to say when they combine their powers. Something simple, but something that would kinda bind them together. I've been trying to come up with something since I started this story, but I can't come of with anything that sounds right. Please help me! I might not be able to update again until I come up with something! You can either leave your ideas in the reviews or you can PM me. And if I use your suggestions, I promise to credit you at the beginning of the chapter. I will put this at the end of the chapter also so you won't forget!

So, with that said, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 9

It was late. The sun had been down for hours. Everyone in the house was sleeping soundly, a few of them snoring. Well, everyone except for the twins were asleep. In their minds, the events from earlier that day kept replaying.

By the time they had all made it safely back to the junkyard, they saw the Bounty anchored right outside. Zane had called Sensei and Lloyd earlier and had informed them on what had happened. The conversation at dinner that night had been centered around one purpose, telling the twins everything they needed to know covering the prophecy as well as the ninja.

It was amazing to go from being junkyard children to ninja. And not just any ninja, the ones who would someday save all of Ninjago. It was a little frightening also. The fate of everyone in Ninjago would one day rest on both of their shoulders. What if they couldn't defeat the evil?

Jayne shivered as she thought about what could happen. She looked over her shoulder at her sister's back.

"Kailee? You awake?" she whispered. After a moment of silence, Kailee responded.

"Yes," she answered, rolling over to face Jayne's back. "You can't sleep either?" Jayne shook her head.

"No, I keep thinking about today," she said. She rolled over face Kailee.

"Me too," Kailee admitted.

"I mean, what happens if we can't defeat this evil?" Jayne asked.

"We have to," Kailee told her. "According to the prophecy, we are the only ones who can."

"I know but what if its wrong? I mean, even uncle Kai and the other ninja couldn't defeat it before," Jayne reminded her sister.

"That's because they each only have one of the elemental powers and each of them alone are not as strong as when they are combined," Kailee explained.

"What about Uncle Lloyd? Why couldn't he do it?" Jayne asked. Kailee thought about her sister's question.

"I don't know," she finally answered. Both girls were silent for several minutes. "I can't wait to start training. Being able to control elements sounds really neat," Kailee said.

"Yeah, I guess," Jayne replied. She wasn't too keen on the idea of fighting. "I hope it won't be too hard."

"Well, if it is, we can handle it," Kailee assured her sister. "Together, we can handle anything." Jayne smiled at her sister's confidence, beginning to feel it wearing off her. Ever since they had found out about their elemental powers, both of them had noticed traits that the other possessed that corresponded with their elements.

"You're right, together, we can do anything!" Jayne added. The two hugged and exchanged goodnights before turning over to again try to sleep. This time, they succeeded and were both soon fast asleep.

"Did you complete your mission?" a figure seated in the shadows asked the bowing serpentine general.

"No, Your Majesty. We had both of them but the ninja showed up and took them," Scales told the figure. "I am truly sorry, Your Excellency. Let me gather the tribes and I will try again."

"No!" the voice replied. "I have another plan in mind." And with that, an evil feminine cackle was heard, echoing across the dark caverns.

"But, Your Highness, they have learned about their elemental powers," Scales nervously said.

"Let them learn," the voice told him. "Once they learn how to control the powers inside them, we can use it to our advantage." Scales studied the figure skeptically.

"How?" he asked. The evil laughter was again heard.

"Trust me," the figure told him, looking towards another figure that was also in the shadows. The rattle of chains could be heard and the second figure let out a low growl. "When the time is right, I will tell you my plan," the voice assured the serpentine general.

"Mother, please don't hurt them!" a young begged as she entered the room.

"Adriana! What do you think you are doing? Why aren't you training?" her Mother demanded. The girl hung her head.

"I'm sorry, Mother," she replied so quietly that her mother could barely hear her. "I was taking a brake." Her mother took a deep breath.

"My dear, if you are to be finished with your training by the time the ninja girls are, you had better get training!" she told her daughter, each word at the end getting louder until she was practically shouting. The girl's eyes opened wide and she quickly began backing up towards the door.

"Yes, ma'am," she whispered as she turned and left. Her mother sighed loudly.

"Problems, my Queen?" Scales asked, concerned. She nodded.

"I'm afraid that the time she spent with her father has done more harm to her than I expected. If she doesn't shape up soon, I'll have to do something drastic to remove the good from her heart," she said. She sat heavily on her throne and rested her head in her hands. The serpentine general moved to stand beside her. He laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"She will turn out right in end," he assured her. "After all, she is your daughter." This statement seemed to comfort her, as she raised her head and looked at him.

"Yes, she IS my daughter," she said, as if she was trying to remind herself of that. "And no daughter of mine could ever be good, for I am Lilith, Queen of all Evil!" And with that, her evil cackle echoed off the rock walls.

On the Bounty, Sensei gasped as he stared into the spirit smoke. What he saw made him fearful.

'If only there were some way to prevent this from happening,' he thought to himself. He shook his head sadly. In his heart, he knew the spirit smoke never lied and there was nothing anyone could do to change the future.

Well? What do you think? What do you think Lilith's plan is? And what did Sensei see in the spirit smoke? You'll have to wait until the next chapter to find out!

Don't forget, I really need some kind of saying or short chant for the twins to say. I want something that sorta binds them together that had something to do with 'separate, they fail, but together, they can do anything.' You can include their powers in the saying if you need to. I will not be able to update again until I come up with something. (Actually, I needed it for this chapter but I forgot to put this in the author's note on the last chapter so I went a head and did this one.) You can either PM me or you can leave your suggestions in the review section. Again, I will credit whoever's saying I use in the next chapter. So please, help me!


	11. Another Author's Note

Author's Note

Okay, I know how much everyone hates author's notes but I really needed to post this one. If you'be read my previous chapter, you know that I'm currently looking for a special catchphrase for the twins. Well, I found a few and I was wondering which one you guys like the best. So here they are,

Born sisters, forever friends

Earth, Fire, lightning, ice, powers combined, we can't fail.

Divided, never; Friends, forever

Sisters by blood, friends by choice

Born sisters, chosen friends

Individually unique. Together complete.

Okay, there they are. What do you think? Which one do you like the best? I already know which one I'm going to use, but I want to see what you think and if you can guess which one I'll use. If you guess right, I'll mention you in my next chapter. lt might not be until Sunday when I'm able to update next because I am starting an online class Wednesday (its supposed to teach me how to build websites!) and then this weekend I'll be away at a youth conference.

Oh, and I'm thinking about finding a beta reader for my story, so if you have any suggestions let me know! So in the meantime, don't forget to tell me what you think! (More reviews might in courage me to update faster!) ;-) ;-)


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 10

I am soooo sorry for the long wait! I meant to have this chapter up sooner but have just been really busy lately! I'd like to thank KairiVenomarous for helping me out with this chapter and giving me some GREAT ideas for this story! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 10

A figure crept down an alley in the early morning shadows. Reaching the end of the alley, it stopped and listened carefully before peeking around the corner of the building. A ray of sunlight hit the figure's face revealing a young boy in his early teens. He wore a black hoodie over his head, so that only his face could be seen. Directly in front of him, he spotted the legendary Destiny's Bounty, resting in the sandbank about 200 yards away. This was the reason for his journey at this time of morning.

But the boy hesitated. For some reason, he had a bad feeling about his purpose for being there. It didn't make sense to him. He was a street kid; a kid who stole whatever he needed to survive. He had stolen more times than he could count and never thought twice about it. So why did it bother him this time? He debated on not continuing this time, but thought better of it when he remembered the dare. The gang of street boys that he stayed with had dared him to steal something from the Destiny's Bounty.

"But that's where the ninja live!" had been his reply. But the other boys didn't care. They insisted if he wanted to continue to be apart of their gang, he had to complete the dare. The boy knew that he needed the others in the gang. He needed their protection against the other street gangs, who lied in wait to rob anyone who was alone. He was fourteen, though the fact that he was short for his age made him look more like a ten or eleven year old. There was no was he could defend himself against the bigger boys. He Had the go through with this dare.

Seeing no one around, the boy darted towards the ship, pausing to catch his breath only in the shadow of the ship. Once he was able to breathe normally again, he crept forward to the ramp leading up to the deck. Since it was early, he didn't expect anyone to be up. Slowly, he crept on board as silently as he could. Once on board, he crouched in the shadows, surveying the ship to figure out where he should go first. He finally decided on the upstairs. Quietly, he made his way up the stairs and into the little room at the top.

Inside was nothing but a long table and benches. Disappointed, he headed towards the room behind that one. This time, he got lucky. The next room was the kitchen. He quickly crossed the floor to the refrigerator and opened it. Seeing a large pot, which contained the leftovers of the previous nights supper, he removed it from the fridge. Holding it next to the light, he saw the symbol for destiny engraved on the side of the pot. Knowing that this would prove to the other boys that he had completed the dare, he decided to take the pot. Before he left the room, though, he spotted the cabinets where the rest of the food was kept.

"It wouldn't hurt to get something else to sweeten the deal," he thought to himself as he opened the first door.

After going through the cabinets as quietly as he could (though he did make a little racket when a can of tomato soup rolled out of the cabinet and fell on his toe before he could catch it) he finally grabbed a loaf of bread and several homemade donuts.

Grabbing the pot as well, he crept back to the stairs. He was halfway down the stairs when he heard a door creak open. Alarmed, the boy jumped down the last few steps and began sprinting across the deck towards the ramp.

"Hey!" he heard someone yell followed by heavy footsteps. "You come back here!" the voice commanded as Cole chased him, pining him to the deck just before the boy reached the ramp.

"Let me go!" the boy struggled against the weight of the man on his back, but soon found that this struggle was getting him nowhere. "Hey guys! Come out here and see what I found!" the black ninja yelled as he hauled the boy to his feet.

The other ninja and Nya soon joined them on the deck.

"What have you got there, Cole?" Zane asked, gesturing to the boy who was still wearing the hoodie over his head.

"I caught him trying to steal food," Cole informed them. He held up the pot of leftovers and the bread and donuts the boy had taken.

"You mean, someone was actually trying to steal your duck chowder?" Kai exclaimed, holding back his laughter as Cole glared at them.

"He must've not tasted it," Lloyd pointed out, not even trying to quell his laughter.

"All right, enough jokes!" Cole said firmly, glaring menacingly at the others. Then, as the laughter began to calm down, he turned back to the boy. "Who are you and why were you trying to steal from us?" he demanded.

"Yeah, don't you know that stealing is wrong?" Zane asked. The boy hesitated a moment, casting a nervous glance towards the other ninja surrounding him before answering.

"My, my name is Keegan Smith," the boy finally said. "And I, I'm sorry about the food. My gang dared me to sneak on your ship and steal something and they said that if I didn't I wouldn't be apart of the gang anymore and I really need them-" his words ran together as he rushed his explanation.

"Whoa, slow down, son! We're not gonna hurt ya," Kai told him. The boy's expression grew dark at being referred to as 'son' and he glared at Kai.

"I am not your son," he told Kai, who took a step back in surprise at the boy's fierce tone.

"Hey, cool down, boy. Kai didn't mean anything by it," Cole told Keegan, who continued to glare heatedly at Kai.

"What are we gonna do with him?" Zane asked Cole.

"I don't know," was his response. "Maybe we ought to turn him in to the police."

"We could at least take him home," Lloyd said. Turning to Keegan, he asked, "where do you live at?"

"Wherever I want to," he replied. Seeing their puzzled expressions, he clarified. "I'm an orphan." The others stood there, stunned, not sure how to respond.

Nya, unnoticed by them, had come on deck just as Kai called him 'son.' After hearing the boy's confession to being an orphan, her motherly instinct kicked in.

"Surely you guys are not gonna turn him back out onto the streets. He looks like he hasn't eaten in days. Lets at least give him a good meal before we do anything with him. Think about if it was Kailee or Jayne. Wouldn't you want somebody to take care of them?" She pushed between Lloyd and Zane and addressed the boy.

"You must be hungry," she said. Keegan nodded. "How about some blueberry pancakes and sausage and eggs?" Again, he nodded, though this time, the nod was accompanied by the hint of a smile. Nya returned his smile with one of her own as she led him back up to the dining room.

Half an hour later, everyone was seated in the dining room eating breakfast. It was obvious that Nya had been right in her assumption that it had been a while since Keegan's last meal. He wolfed down the stacks of pancakes, sausage and eggs that Nya placed in front of him. He had removed his hood, revealing his wild fiery red hair that made his bright green eyes even brighter and stand out more.

"So, Keegan," Cole started. "How did you end up on the streets?" Keegan took his time swallowing the food in his mouth before answering.

"My mother died about five years ago. Since I have no other family, I had no where to go," he answered.

"What about your father?" Kai asked.

"I don't know much about him," Keegan admitted. "My mother said he deserted her before I was born." He paused to take another bite of his food and swallow it. "But I get along just fine on my own. Mother always said I was a fighter."

"So you just live wherever you want to?" Kailee asked.

"Well, most of the time we live in the basement of my old house," the boy replied. "The house was sold to an older couple after mother died, but they never go in the basement after dark."

"Where's your house at?" Lloyd asked.

"In Connersville," Keegan answered. "It's a tiny town on the skirts of Ninjago City."

"I know where that is," Nya said. "Kai and I grew up there. Our father ran the blacksmith's shop there." Keegan looked up at Nya in surprise.

"You used to live in the blacksmith's shop?" he asked, eyes wide with excitement. Nya nodded.

"After our father died, me and Kai ran the shop for a while. Then Sensei came along and we ended up moving here," she told him, slightly confused by his enthusiasm.

"My mother told me that she used to be good friends with the blacksmith's children," Keegan responded.

"What was your mother's name?" Kai asked.

"Sophia Lane," was Keegan's response.

"Oh wow! I remember Sophia! We used to be best friends growing up," Nya said excitedly. She turned to Kai. "You remember her don't you?"

But Kai didn't answer. The expression on his face troubled Nya as she watched him stare at nothing. His hands gripped the edge of the table so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. The normal fire in his eyes had been replaced by something else.

"Kai?" Nya asked, puzzled. "What's wrong, Kai?" Her brother jerked as if suddenly awakened from sleep and immediately the fire returned to his eyes, hiding the previous emotion that she had seen.

"Nothing," he replied gruffly. He dropped his head and refused to meet her eyes. Then before anyone could ask any further questions, he stood to his feet and quickly left the room.

Nya stared after him. She was puzzled by his actions. But what puzzled her more was what she had seen in Kai's eyes. Though it had only been there a slit second, Nya knew what it had been. Fear.

What do you think Kai is afraid of? Let me know your thoughts in the reviews!


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 11

Okay, here's the next chapter. The majority of this chapter is a flashback. This chapter is a little bit suggestive, but I made sure that its not too descriptive. (I don't normally write scenes like this, but this story needed it.) Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! Oh and thanks to Guest for correcting the fact that Kai's village was named Jamonikai Village in the last chapter. I could not remember the name so I made one up.

And now, on with the story!

Chapter 11

After Kai left the room, the others sat there stunned for a moment.

"What's the matter with Uncle Kai?" Jayne asked her mother. Nya continued to stare at the empty doorway, a worried expression on her face.

"I'm sure it's nothing. He probably didn't sleep well last night," Nya said, not sounding totally convinced herself. When the concerned looks remained on everyone's faces, Nya tried to change the subject. "What's the matter with everyone? This food is getting cold. Don't expect me to cook a big breakfast for everyone if you're gonna let it go to waste."

At her last comment, the others continued their meal. Nya tried to put her concern for Kai out of her mind, but she couldn't. She had seen the flicker of what he had tried to hide in his eyes. It took a lot to scare Kai, and even if he was scared, he made sure to hide it, especially from her. Often, he covered his fear with his hot temper. But what puzzled Nya the most was the reason why he was afraid. She scanned the previous conversation in her mind. Kai had started acting funny when Keegan mentioned his mother's name. But why would that scare Kai? Suddenly, it dawned on her. There was only one reason. She looked at the young boy sitting at the table, chattering excitedly with the twins. His wild red curls bounced up and down as he moved his head, with bright green eyes that stood out. He had an infectious laugh and a very familiar smile. Nya smiled, knowing she had figured it out.

An hour later, the ninja were on the deck, taking turns training the twins. All of them had decided that Keegan should stay on the Bounty with them at least for a few days. Zane was trying to teach Jayne how to throw a proper punch. He was outfitted in oven mitts on both hands and several pillows tied around his waist and upper body.

"You're not trying hard enough," Zane told the blonde headed girl. "You can do better than that."

"But I don't want to hurt you," Jayne protested. Zane chuckled.

"Honey, believe me, you're not gonna hurt me," he assured her. "Now lets try it again and this time, give me all you got." Jayne pulled back her arm and punched the mitt as hard as she could. Zane smiled and nodded. "That's it! Now you're getting it!" he praised her.

On the other side of the deck, Kai was teaching Kailee a similar lesson. Well, as it turned out, Kailee caught on quicker than Kai had anticipated. It was obvious that his mind was elsewhere. He too was decked out similar to Zane. Kai blocked most of Kailee's punches and kicks but she managed to land several good ones on him. They were pretty basic moves which Kai should've had no problem blocking. Cole, who was watching from the sidelines, shook his head in disgust.

"Kai, those are basic moves you're missing. What's the matter with you today? You never miss anything that easy," the ninja in black stepped forward. Kai's head jerked up, his hazel eyes filled with flames.

"You think you can do a better job?" he stated more than asked. "Then you train her!" With that, Kai threw the mitts at him and stomped off down the stairs, jerking at the strings that tied the pillows around him as he went. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch Kai's outburst.

"I didn't mean to upset him," Cole started to defend himself, but Nya put her hand on his arm, stopping him from continuing.

"It isn't you," she assured him, staring after her brother.

"I wonder what's bothering him then," Cole said, slightly upset by the fact that Kai was taking his anger out on him. "I wish he didn't have to burn the rest of us because something's bothering him."

A week passed, and Kai's temper didn't get any better. He remained distant, snapping at whoever was brave enough to disturb him. Keegan was convinced that Kai was mad at him for something, though he didn't know what.

At supper that night, Keegan had an announcement.

"I'd like to thank you all for being so good to me and taking care of me, but I think it's time for me to leave," he said. The others were stunned.

"No, you can't leave!" Kailee told him.

"Why, Keegan?" Jayne asked.

"I've already overstayed my welcome," he explained. Then glancing at Kai he added. "Besides, I think I've caused enough trouble here."

This time it was Nya's eyes that were filled with flames as she glared across the table at her brother. His head was down and he traced the wood grain pattern on the table. After a minute, he met his sister's eyes for a second before pushing away from the table and purposefully striding from the room.

The red ninja stood on the deck, tightly gripping the Bounty's wooden railing. He stared off in the distance. There was no denying who Keegan was, he had realized that fact over the past week. The boy was so much like him. He sighed heavily, remembering the day that had started everything.

It was the day after Jay and Nya's wedding. They had left for their honeymoon and the other guys had decided to spend some time with their families, leaving Kai alone on the Bounty. He had wandered around the empty rooms for a while before he decided to go visit his old home.

The blacksmith's shop was being run by good friends of Kai's family, the Lane family. As he entered the shop, he took a deep breath of the familiar scent of melting iron and smiled. Looking around the room, he found that one was currently there.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" he called towards the back rooms that served as the house.

"Just a minute!" he heard a voice call back. Kai busied himself with inspecting the quality of the swords. As he heard footsteps coming near, he quickly grabbed a helmet and placed it on his head.

"What can I help you with, sir?" a young girl about Nya's age asked.

Kai kept his back to her, and said in a gruff voice: "These swords are worthless pieces of junk. I can't believe you would even sell them."

The girl was taken back by his words. She knew that a few of them had small imperfections, but it would take an expert blacksmith's eye to find them. Quickly she regained her composure.

"I wouldn't call them that," she replied.

"Well, I didn't ask what you'd call them. I already told you what they are, junk. Worthless pieces of junk," Kai told her in his gruff voice. Though his back was still to her, he could hear her fighting to keep in control of her temper. He smiled.

"Now look here, sir, I don't know who you think you are to come in here and start criticizing our merchandise. We work hard to make sure we sell quality weapons here. So you have no right to just-' at that moment, Kai turned to face her, removing the helmet from his head. She fell silent as she stared in shock at the person standing before her. "K-Kai? I-Is it r-really you?" she stammered. Kai nodded, his classic grin on his face.

"Hey, Sophia," he said, taking a step towards her. "I guess its been a while since the last time I was here." Sophia blushed lightly, tucking a stray piece of curly brown hair behind her ear.

"I didn't recognize your voice," she told him. "I'm sorry about what I said."

"It's all right, I was trying to see if you'd still fall for that old trick," Kai said.

"You always did fool me whenever you talked like that, didn't you?" she asked softly. He nodded. His green eyes met her light blue ones and they stood there for a minute, staring into each others eyes.

"Sophia! You out here?" Mr. Yuri Lane called as he came into the room. He, like his daughter had, stopped in the doorway and started at Kai in shock. Kai laughed.

"Good to see you too, Mr. Lane," the red ninja said, walking over the man to shake his hand.

"Well, if it isn't Kai Smith! What brings you here this fine day? Is Nya with you?" Mr. Lane asked.

"No, sir, Nya and Jay left for their honeymoon and the other guys went to spend some time with their families so I thought I'd come back here for a visit," Kai answered.

"Well, we're glad you did, aren't we Sophia?" the man asked, winking at Kai.

"Oh, yes, how long are you staying for?" Sophia wondered.

"Probably about a week," Kai told her. "I was gonna get a room at the inn after I left here."

"Oh no you're not!" Sophia protested, just as Kai knew she would. "You're gonna stay here with us."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to be a bother," he said. Secretly, he was glad she had offered for him to stay with them. This way he'd have more time to spend with her. 'Wait a minute! Did I just think that?' Kai thought alarmed. 'She's one of my best friends and that's all.' he told himself firmly, though he wasn't completely sure that was the truth.

"You wouldn't be a bother! Would he, Daddy?" Sophia asked. Mr. Lane smiled warmly at his daughter. He knew that she liked Kai but he wasn't sure about Kai's feelings for her. He also knew that with Kai staying with them, she would have a better chance of finding out how he felt about her.

"Of course not," he replied. "You know that you are welcome here anytime, Kai. After all, this is really yours."

"Thank you, Mr. Lane, Sophia," Kai said with a smile.

"Well, I've got a few orders to fill before closing time. Kai, you learned how to make a proper sword yet?" Mr. Lane asked. Kai nodded. "All right then, here's a list of what we need to make. Think you can help?" Kai took the list and scanned it.

"This'll be easy," he said.

"Let's get to work!" Mr. Lane said.

Three days had past since Kai had come back to the shop. So far, he hadn't had any time to spend with Sophia. Every time he saw her, his heart pounded in his chest. She was so beautiful! It didn't matter whether she was bending over the anvil pounding on a hot piece of metal, or whether she was covered from head to toe in flour from making bread, Kai still thought she was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen. He had to tell her that. He couldn't stand having to go back to the Bounty without telling her how he felt. He had to talk to her alone. But when? Suddenly, as if he had smashed his thumb with the hammer, he knew what had to do. He had to ask her on a date. That was the only way to ensure that no one would interrupt their conversation.

Deciding what to do had been the easy part. The hard part was asking for permission. He knew that a respectable gentleman always asked the girl's father for his permission first. Kai sighed, not sure of what Mr. Lane might say.

He didn't get a chance to ask him until later that night. Sophia had just gone to bed, leaving Kai and her father in the living room alone. Mr. Lane was seated in his recliner, reading his newspaper. He looked like he was in a good mood.

'Its now or never,' Kai told himself as he took a deep breath.

"Mr. Lane, I was thinking. Would- no, do you think- no, maybe if you wouldn't mind-" Kai stuttered, trying to find the right words. Sophia's father had lowered his paper to stare at Kai over his wide rimmed glasses.

"Just spit it out, son," he told Kai, hiding his smile. He knew what the red ninja was trying to ask. Kai took a deep breath and tried again.

"I'd like to ask your permission to take Sophia out on a date," he said in a rush. Mr. Lane was quiet for a few moments and Kai began to wonder if this was such a good idea after all.

"Yes, Kai, you have my permission," Me. Lane told him finally. Kai's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Really?" he asked, not sure he had heard right. The man nodded.

"But you'd better take good care of her," he said firmly. Kai nodded.

"Yes, sir!" he replied, standing to his feet and shaking Mr. Lane's hand. "I think I'll go to bed now. Good night, sir." Kai barely managed to get those words out of his mouth before sprinting down the hall towards the bedrooms.

Asking Sophia was easy. She had said yes right away. Kai set the date up for the next night at seven o'clock.

Seven o'clock couldn't come quick enough for Kai. The next day seemed to drag on forever. Kai worked on the same sword all day, each time he made it, he couldn't seem to get it right. Sophia had left early that morning to go shopping for a new dress for the date so she wasn't in the shop that day.

At six o'clock, Mr. Lane told Kai to go get ready for his date and he would close up. Kai thought those had been the best words he had heard all day. An hour later, he was sitting nervously on the couch, waiting for Sophia. Several of her friends had come over to help her get ready and Kai could hear their laughter and the chattering of their voices from the living room.

He jumped to his feet as he heard the door open. When Sophia entered the room, Kai was the one who stood there in shock. She was more beautiful than he'd ever imagined. The frilly light blue gown flowed gracefully down her slender figure and stopped just below her knees. Covering her shoulders was a shawl made out of a sheer piece of sparkly white material that tied to form a low neckline in the front. Her curly coffee brown hair had been swept up off her shoulders and pinned to the back of get head with several of the curls hanging down. A few curly strands had been left loose to accent her face and hide her ears slightly. A small pair of sapphire dangle earrings were in her ears with a matching pendant around her neck. Her baby blue eyes seemed to sparkle as she approached him.

"Well, what do you think?" Sophia asked as she twirled slowly in front of Kai, allowing him to inspect her outfit. Kai blinked several times and swallowed hard. He felt a smile begin to form in his face and at that moment, all his doubts about their date that evening vanished.

"You look beautiful," he told her softly. Her face lit up even more and her cheeks blushed light pink. She turned to kiss her father goodbye before slipping her arm through Kai's outstretched one.

"I have some errands to run this evening," Mr. Lane told them as they started for the door. "I'm not sure what time I'll be home, but it may be late."

"Don't worry, Daddy, we'll be fine!" Sophia assured him as they left.

That night was a dream come true for the two young people. Kai took Sophia to a nice restaurant in town where they had a quiet supper. Each if them had confessed similar feelings for each other. After supper, they had taken a romantic boat ride down the river. The air had grown surprisingly chilly. Kai felt Sophia shivering next to him. Without thinking, he wrapped his strong arm around her small shoulders and she snuggled up against him.

'What am I doing?' Kai thought, his heart pounding at being so close to Sophia. She snuggled closer to him, trying to get warm. Instinct told him to hold her close, but the gentleman side of him refused. This was their first date. They weren't even officially dating. He knew it would be wrong to get familiar with her, especially since he would be leaving in two days and didn't know when he'd see her again.

The boat ride soon ended and the couple started back to the blacksmith's shop. All the lights were out when they entered, indicating to them that Mr. Lane wasn't back yet.

Kai went to his room to get changed for bed, when it suddenly dawned on him. They were alone. He was going to have to be very careful to make sure he didn't listen to his emotions.

Back in the living room, he found that Sophia too had changed for bed. She was sitting on the couch with the TV remote in her hand. She looked up and smiled at him as he entered.

"Wanna watch a movie?" she suggested, patting the empty place beside her. Kai hesitated a moment before sitting down, leaving plenty of space between them. Sophia changed channels until she found something she was interested in. Kai wasn't sure what it was but he thought it liked like a romantic movie, like what Jay and Nya liked to watch together. As the title credits rolled across the screen, Sophia scooted closer to Kai and rested her head on his shoulder. Kai felt his heart speed up and his breathing became quick. The delicious scent of her perfume was killing him. It took all of his will power not to take her in his arms right then and kiss her.

"Sophia," Kai started. "This isn't right." She tilted her head to look up at him.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Us, together, alone in this house," Kai replied. "I mean we've only just had our first date. We are moving way too quickly." Sophia sat up and looked at him.

"So don't you love me? You told me you did," she reminded him. "Did you really mean it? Or was that just another one of your tricks?" Her eyes narrowed at her last statement. Kai could feel her getting angry. He thought quickly. He really meant it when he'd told her he loved her. But she just didn't understand. He had to make her understand.

"Sophia, I do love you, more than you know," he told her. "But we're not ready for anything past dates yet. It just isn't right."

"Why not?" she demanded.

"Sophia," Kai said, trying to remain patient. "I'll be leaving in two days to go back to the Bounty. I don't know when I'll be able to come see you again. I don't want us to get too attached to each other too quickly."

"See, you're saying you don't love me!" Sophia cried, jumping up from the couch. Kai grabbed her wrist before she could get away.

"I want us to get to know each better before we jump into anything too fast. We can write to each other and visit," he told her. She glared at him.

"But we DO know each other," Sophia reminded him. "We grew up together. Us and Nya were always together, we did everything together." She paused and looked him in the eyes. "I just don't see why you're insisting on us getting to know each other better."

Both were quiet for a moment, each thinking their own thoughts. Kai leaned forward and looked deep into her eyes. The previous spark that he'd seen in her eyes was gone. Kai felt sorry for her but he had to make her understand.

"Please believe me, Sophia," Kai begged. "I do love you, I really do." Sophia sighed and broke her gaze from Kai's and stared down at the floor, tracing a pattern on the linoleum. When she finally looked up a few moments later, the fire was back in her eyes.

"You say you love me, then prove it!" she told him. "You want me to wait and get to know you? If you can't prove that you love me, then I can't promise that I'll wait." Her face was more fierce then Kai had ever seen it. He knew by her tone that she was serious. Kai didn't think he could stand it if he lost her. But he couldn't go against his principles. What she was wanting him to do was wrong, and both of them knew it. Kai closed his eyes thoughtfully. He couldn't do it. He shouldn't do it. Just then, Sophia leaned into him and kissed him on the lips. Kai's eyes popped open in surprise. The kiss was quick, but with that short kiss, Kai made up his mind. The most important thing in world to him was Sophia, and he was willing to do anything he had to do to keep her. This time, it was Kai who leaned in to kiss her. Sophia closed her eyes as Kai came closer. Before long, both Sophia and Kai had given into their emotions and had forgotten all about their principles.

The next morning, Kai woke up before Sophia. Sunlight was streaming in the window. He in looked around and realized with a start that he was in Sophia's bed. Jumping to his feet and trying not wake Sophia, Kai hurried out of her bedroom and across the hall into his. Once inside the safety of his room, he realized how heavy he was breathing. Taking a deep breath, he tried to settle himself down. He replayed last night's events in his mind. He squeezed his eyes closed tightly, as if that would erase the things he remembered that took place the previous night. He couldn't believe what he had allowed himself to do.

'Maybe I'm just imagining things,' Kai thought to himself. But he knew otherwise. He had done wrong and there was nothing he could do to erase that fact.

Well, actually, there was something he could do. He could leave. No one had to know what they had done. Hopefully Mr. Lane had not come back yet.

Hurriedly, Kai threw his things into his bag and scribbled a note to Sophia. He slipped back into her room and left the note on her desk. Pausing in the doorway, he turned to look at her, still asleep in her bed. Even with her hair a mess from sleep and black circles under her eyes, Kai still thought she was beautiful. He sighed softly and closed the door, not just on her, but on all his dreams.

What do you think is gonna happen next? Will Kai tell Keegan that he's his father, or will he let him leave the Bounty not knowing? Let me know what you think in the review section!


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 12

Wow! I can't believe I got this finished so fast! I was surprised at how easy it was to write. Thanks sooo much for all the reviews!

Chapter 12

As the others continued eating, Nya left the room to follow Kai. She saw him leaning against the railing on the deck. He looked deep in thought. Hopefully, he had cooled down enough to talk. Nya took a deep breath, trying to get her own anger under control. she knew that Kai would never talk to her if she was angry. Quietly, Nya slipped up behind him.

"You like you're a million miles away," she told him, startling him from his thoughts. He turned to face her.

"Yeah, I- I guess I was," he replied. Nya moved up beside him and leaned against the railing. She was quiet, waiting for him to start the conversation in his own time. Several moments passed, and Nya was beginning to wonder if he ever WAS gonna talk.

"I'm not really angry at anyone," Kai finally said. Nya nodded.

"I know that," she assured him. "But Keegan doesn't." Kai sighed at her last statement.

"Listen, Nya, I'm not mad at him either," he said. "Its just that- Man! I don't know who I'm mad at." He banged his fist on the railing in frustration.

"I do," Nya told him softly. Kai looked at her with an astonished look on his face.

"W- what are you talking about?" He asked.

"I know about what happened with Sophia," she explained quietly. Kai's head dropped, ashamed of his actions.

"Nya, I'm sorry, I knew it was wrong. I-I don't know why I did it," he said. Nya put her hand on his arm.

"I'm not upset with you," his sister assured him. "What's done is done. None of us can change the past but we can change the future."

"So you think I should tell him that I'm his father and ask him to stay?" Kai asked.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't tell him that your his father right away, but I do think he needs to stay," Nya told him.

"But what do I know about raising kids?" her brother asked.

"You do pretty good with the girls," she reminded him. "Think of it this way, he's spent his whole life without a father. He's gonna have to learn how to be a son just as much as you'll have to learn to be a father."

"I guess you're right," he agreed.

"Please don't let him leave," Nya begged. "The streets are no place for children. If you let him leave, you will not only have to live with the regret of the wrong you did with Sophia, but also the fact that you abandoned your son twice." Kai's head shot up.

"I haven't abandoned him," he protested.

"Oh, well what would you call it when someone walks away from their girlfriend when he knows she expecting his baby?" Nya wondered. She could feel her temper starting to well up inside her, but quickly suppressed it.

"When I left, I had no idea she was expecting," Kai defended himself. Nya snorted.

"Sure, well if that's true, why did you run off and leave her so fast?" she countered.

"Because I was a-" he started.

"Afraid that someone would find out what you two did? Well, did you ever stop and think that even though you might've gotten away scotch free, you left Sophia to raise a baby on her own? You thought you could hide your blame from everyone, but she couldn't," Nya told him. By this time, she had given up trying to suppress her temper. She was angry and Kai knew it. "That was just as bad as what the two of you did." She narrowed her eyes and studied him. "You might have convinced everyone else and maybe even yourself that you didn't know about the baby when you left, but I know better and deep down in your heart, you do too."

Kai was silent for a minute, thinking.

"Maybe I'll take Keegan out fishing tomorrow," he thought out loud. Nya smiled and her temper melted away.

"I think he'd like that," she told him. She gave him a quick hug before turning to leave.

"Nya," Kai called, stopping her in mid step. "Do any of the others know that Keegan's my-"

"No," Nya interrupted him. "Not unless they figured it out for themselves."

"Thanks," Kai told her. She smiled at him before continuing upstairs. Kai remained on deck for a few more minutes.

By the time he joined the others in the dining room, they had almost finished their meal. He quietly took his seat at the table. Everyone was silent.

"I'm sorry for the way I've even acting these past few days," Kai told them. "I want you to know that I'm not mad at any of you." They all nodded. "Keegan, how'd you like to go fishing tomorrow?"

The boy's head shot up and excitement showed in his eyes.

"Really?" he asked. Kai nodded. "Awesome! I've never been fishing before!"

"You haven't?" Kailee asked, surprised. Keegan shook his head.

"Didn't your dad ever take you?" Jayne asked. Kai tensed and awaited the boy's response.

"I never met my dad," he said, sadly.

"Oh," Kailee replied. "We don't remember our dad either."

"Yeah, he died when we were young," Jayne added.

"My dad didn't die," Keegan told them. "I don't know what happened to him. Mom said he disappeared before I was born. She said she didn't think he even knew about me."

"I can't believe a father would do that," Cole said.

"Yeah, he must've not been a very good man to leave his wife like that," Zane said. Kai frowned at their statements.

"Oh, they weren't married," Keegan told them. "Mama said they were barely even dating. She always talked good about him, though. She even gave me his last name. My grandfather wasn't too keen on him or me for that matter. He blamed my father for my being born before my mother and father were married, but mama said it was both of their faults. She always said that if she could go back and do things over again, she wouldn't have changed anything." Kai smiled slightly when he heard Keegan tell of Sophia's words about him. She really did love him. Even though he had abandoned them, she'd still loved him. At that moment, he wished he could go back and face up to his wrongs with her by his side. Keegan's voice jolted Kai from his thoughts.

"We used to live with my grandfather when I was little, but all he ever talked about was what a rotten person my father was. He never spent any time with me and tried to stay away from me as much as possible. I think he hated me. Because of me, my mother's life was ruined," the boy put his head down. Nya moved to the empty seat beside him and put her arm around his shoulders, comforting him in a way only a mother could.

"You are not to blame for what your parents did," she firmly told him, sending a quick glare in Kai's direction. "And you did not ruin your mother's life. I grew up with your mother and I know that you were probably one of the best things that ever happened to her. I know that she loved you. And I'm sure your father loves you too, wherever he is." Keegan looked up at her.

"How do you know that?" he asked. Nya smiled at him and squeezed his shoulders.

"Parents do strange things sometimes but it's hard for a parent not to love their own child," she assured him. He smiled back at her and nodded.

The next morning, Kai woke up early. No one else was up, not even the sun. Quietly, he crept over to the corner where Keegan was asleep on the pallet they had made for him.

"Keegan, wake up," he whispered, gently shaking the boy awake.

"Kai? What time is it?" Keegan asked groggily.

"Six thirty," Kai replied. The boy groaned.

"Why are you waking me up so early? The sun's not even up yet," he said, lying back down on his bed and closed his eyes.

"I thought you wanted to go fishing?" Kai reminded him. "The best time to go is in the morning." Keegan sighed, his eyes still closed.

"All right, I'm awake," he said or more like groaned. Kai chuckled and stood up to go get dressed.

By the time the sun was in the sky, Kai and Keegan had settled themselves on the banks of the river, fishing poles in their hands. They had been there for an hour and so far, not even one fish had so much as looked twice at their baited hooks. Keegan sighed impatiently.

"How come they're not biting?" he asked, wiggling his line in the water. Kai chuckled.

"You have to be patient," he told the boy.

"I have been patient!" Keegan exclaimed. Kai couldn't help but chuckle again. Keegan glared at him. "What's so funny?"

"Well, part of the reason for going fishing is to relax and enjoy being outdoors," Kai replied. Keegan sighed and looked around.

"I guess it is really pretty here," Keegan said. Kai nodded.

"Yep, this is one of my favorite spots," he told the boy. "The fish don't seem to bite too well, but it sure is a beautiful spot." They were both silent for a moment.

"But I thought we were going fishing," Keegan reminded Kai. "Why did we come here if you knew that the fish don't bite?" Kai was quiet, trying to decide how to answer him. He knew why he had chosen this spot. This had been the place where he and Nya had first met Sophia. This had been the three of them's special place. He glanced at Keegan out of the corner of his eye. The boy reminded him a lot of Sophia. True, in appearance, he took after Kai and maybe he had even inherited his temper, but he had a quiet side that would observe everything and store it away in his mind to contemplate it later. His bright green eyes were like great big windows, revealing all of his thoughts.

Kai sighed. He wanted to tell the boy the truth. More than anything, he longed to have that special relationship that is there between a man and his son. But he wasn't sure if the time was right to tell him.

"Kai?" Keegan asked, startling the red ninja from his thoughts.

"Yeah?" Kai wondered.

"You didn't answer my question," the boy reminded him. Kai cleared his throat nervously before answering.

"Well, I guess I've just been homesick for this place," he answered. He looked off to the right side of them. "Did you know that if you go through those trees over there you'll eventually end up at the blacksmith's shop?" Keegan followed his gaze.

"No, I didn't know that," he replied. "Did you used to come here when you was young?"

"Yes, Nya and I both did," Kai told him. "Your mama did too. This used to be our favorite place to play. It was OUR place. No one else knew about it except for the three of us." He paused for a moment. He could feel Keegan studying him carefully.

"Mama used to tell me stories from when y'all were little," the boy told him. "She was really close to the two of you." Kai nodded.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," he agreed. Then he laughed. "Did she ever tell you about the first time we went swimming?" Keegan shook his head, an interested smile on his face. "I must've been about ten and your mama and Nya had to have been at least seven. It had been an unusually hot summer that year. One day, the three of us decided we were gonna go swimming. So we got permission from our parents and changed into some old clothes. Then we ran down here to the river. Once we got down here, me and Nya just jumped right on in, but your mama hesitated. We called to her that the water was fine and to just jump in. Well, she just stood there and finally she told us that she couldn't swim.

'Oh, well then we'll teach you,' young Kai called to Sophia as he climbed out of the water.

'Yeah, it's easy!' Nya told the girl.

'You sure?' Sophia asked nervously.

'Of course! I learned when I was younger than you are,' Nya assured her.

After about thirty minutes of Kai and Nya taking turns trying teach Sophia how to swim or even float, the girl was no closer to learning how to swim than she was at the beginning.

'I don't think I'll ever learn,' Sophia admitted sadly. She and Kai and Nya were sitting on the bank of the river, resting.

'That's ok,' Kai told her. 'We can just play here on the bank.'

'What should we play?' Sophia asked.

'How bout tag?' Nya suggested.

'Yeah!' the other two agreed.

'Not it!' Kai exclaimed.

'Not it!' Sophia cried.

'Guess I'm it,' Nya said as she began to count to ten to give other two time to start running.

The three of them switched off taking turns chasing each other. It was now Sophia's turn and she was intent on catching Kai. He, on the other hand, was doing his best to stay ahead of her. He ran towards the river at top speed. Just before he reached it, he swerved quickly away from the water and in the opposite direction. Sophia, however, couldn't stop quick enough. She slipped on a patch of wet grass and fell into the deep part of river.

'H-Help!' she sputtered, splashing around in the water. Both Kai and Nya jumped in after her. Before they could reach her though, she managed to awkwardly paddle herself over to the shallow part of the river.

'You did it!' Nya exclaimed. Sophia stood up and looked at her in puzzlement. Nya gestured back towards the place where Sophia had landed. 'You swam!' Slowly, Sophia's face began to register what she had just done.

' I don't believe it!' she exclaimed in excitement. 'I did it! I really did it!' She laughed and the others joined in.

'Well, what are we waiting for?' Kai asked. 'Let's go swimming!'

Keegan laughed as Kai finished up the story.

"Mama never told me that one," he said as the two of them laughed together. Once they had sobered up, Keegan asked Kai a question that he had been wanting to ask for a while. "Did you know my father?" Kai swallowed hard. This was a question he had not been expecting.

"Well, I- I guess you could say that," he replied after a few minutes.

"What was he like?" Keegan asked. Kai thought for a minute.

"In a lot of ways, I guess he was a lot like you," he told him.

"Mama really cared for him, didn't she?" the boy asked. Kai nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so," he agreed.

"I wonder why he left," Keegan thought out loud. Again, Kai swallowed hard. This was it. He couldn't hide the truth from him any longer. He was gonna have to tell him. Taking a deep breath, Kai began talking.

"Well, you see, your mother and your father were very close. Having grown up together, they were used to doing everything together." Keegan interrupted him at that point.

"Wait a minute," he said. "My parents grew up together?" Kai nodded.

"When they got older, your father moved away and your mother stayed here with your grandfather to run the blacksmith's shop," he continued. "After awhile, he decided to come back for a visit. It was during that visit that they really fell in love with each other." Kai sighed before continuing. "It was during that week that your mother came up expecting you." He was silent for a minute. Keegan watched him, waiting for him to finish the story. "Your father got scared about what would happen if any one found out what they had done. So he ran away, leaving your mother a quickly scribbled note and an unborn baby to raise alone."

Kai dared to look at Keegan. The boy was staring straight ahead, his face wore a thoughtful expression. After a few minutes, he spoke again.

"I bet you were a big encouragement to my mother during that time," he said. Kai dropped his head in shame, tears beginning well up in his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he looked Keegan straight in the eye and spoke the words that would change Keegan's thoughts of him forever, whether for the worst because of his sins in the past or for good because of the future they could share together.

"I am your father."

Whoa! Cliffhanger! Wonder how Keegan's gonna react to that? Will he be angry and resent him abandoning him or will he accept Kai as his father despite past mistakes? Let me know what you think in the reviews! And you never know, more reviews may help me write faster (hint, hint!). ;-) ;-)


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 13

Here's the next chapter! I am really enjoying writing this, I don't know if you can tell that by reading these chapters or not. Thanks to all of you for taking the time to review! If any of you have suggestions that you think would help, feel free to PM me! I'd love to hear from my readers! Anyway, on to the next chapter!

Chapter 13

Keegan stared at Kai, shock written all over his face. He opened his mouth several times then closed it, as if he was going to say something but the words wouldn't come out. The boy looked down into the river, and Kai could almost see his thoughts as they flashed across his mind. After a few seconds of silence, Keegan finally spoke.

"Why? Why did you leave us? Why did you leave me? I needed you! Mama needed you!" he asked. He tone was harsh and when he turned to face Kai, his glare matched his tone perfectly.

Kai swallowed hard. He knew these would be the first questions the boy would ask. He had to give him the right answers. Their entire future depended upon how he answered Keegan's questions. He looked at the boy's distorted face. Anger. That was what Keegan was feeling. And maybe some hurt. Kai sighed. The best way to answer his questions was with the truth.

"I was selfish," Kai admitted, not looking at the boy. "I was afraid of what people would think and say about me once they found out what we did. I didn't stop and think about the fact that I was leaving your mother to carry that burden alone. Or to raise our baby alone." He was quiet for a minute. "I told myself that I'd come back in a few months, but as the months went by, it became easier to just try to forget about what I had done."

Kai ventured a glance at Keegan. The boy was staring intently at the river. His face was blank, showing no emotion.

"I know I was wrong. If I could go back and relive those days, I wouldn't leave the two of you," he told Keegan. "As much as I'd like to, though, I can't change the past. But I can try to make up for it in the future." Keegan turned his head towards Kai, as he waited for him to continue. "I want you to stay on the Bounty with us. I want us to get to know each other."

"Why?" Keegan asked, his voice void of all emotion. That question caught Kai off guard. He thought quickly.

"Because you're my son," he told him. "Keegan, I love you. I want us to have that special relationship that only a father and his son can have." As he spoke, he watched Keegan's face change drastically. But not the way he wanted it to, though. It was now hard and fierce and when he spoke, so was his voice.

"So you disappear before I was born and now, fourteen years later, you show up and expect me to forgive just like that and forget the past and just buddy up with you like nothing ever happened?" he asked, a hint of disgust in his voice. "Well, I can't forget that easily. My entire life was ruined because of your selfishness. Because if you, my grandfather hated me, the neighbors and their children made fun of me. My mother had to go to work because you weren't there to provide for us. There were many nights, I went to bed hungry and Mama was even hungrier because she had given the little bit if food she had been able to by with her measly wages. You think it's easy to forget all if that? Well, it's not!" Keegan yelled that last part. Kai's eyes were closed as he listened and a few tears escaped from his eyes. He knew the boy would be hurt, but he had not realized how deeply one thoughtless action had hurt him. Keegan took a deep breath then continued. "All my life, I listened to Mama say good things about you. But the only thing I could think about was that if you was such a good man, why weren't you there with us? I had seen many boys with their fathers and I dreamed that one day, I could have what they had." Keegan was staring at the river as he finished. Kai put his hand on his shoulder.

"You can," he told him softly. But shook his head violently.

"No," he said. "It's too late." He looked at Kai. "You had a chance to be my father, but you threw it away. Now it's too late."

"Son, I know I messed up, but I do love you," he told the boy. Keegan jumped to his feet and gave Kai the fiercest glare he had.

"I AM NOT YOUR SON!" he told him firmly. "And you will never be my father!" With that, Keegan whirled around and sprinted through the trees, running away from Kai as if his life depended on it.

Kai watched him go. Now he understood how the boy felt. He had never realized how one selfish action could cause so much hurt and anger. He sighed. He loved Keegan so much. He just HAD to convince him of that. Kai considered going after him, but thought better of it. Keegan needed some by himself to sort through his feelings. He looked at his watch. One o'clock. He'd best be getting back to the Bounty.

Through the ship's computer screen, Nya saw Kai approaching the Bounty alone, carrying both his and Keegan's fishing gear. He looked depressed. She didn't think she had ever seen her brother look so down before. When he came on deck, she was waiting for him.

"What happened?" she asked, worriedly. "Where's Keegan?" Kai didn't respond right away. He walked past her and dropped the gear on the deck.

"He ran off," Kai told her, his back facing her.

"Why?" she asked. Then she remembered the reason got the fishing trip. "You told him, didn't you?" Kai nodded. Nya crossed the wooden deck and stood in front of him.

"Yeah, I told him," he replied. "I tried to explain everything to him, but he wouldn't listen. He got angry and ran off saying I wasn't his father and he wasn't my son." He looked at Nya with tears in his eyes. "I hurt him, Nya. He's hurting so much. And it's all because of me. How could I be so selfish? I wish I could go back and change that. I can't stand to see him hurting."

Nya put her arms around him, comfortingly. Kai hugged her back, lowering his head to her shoulder and cried. Nya knew this was unlike her brother. He never cried. NEVER. She realized just how much Kai loved Keegan and wanted to make up for his past mistakes. If only the boy would let him.

Kai was awoken a few hours later by the alarm bell. He jerked upright into a sitting position, swinging his legs over the side of the bunk and jumping onto the floor.

Nya was in the bridge when he entered. She was rapidly typing on the keyboard while staring intently at the large screen. She didn't hear Kai come in.

"What's going on?" Kai asked. Nya looked up at him, though her fingers never stopped their typing.

"It looks like a wild animal is attacking Jamonikai village," she informed him, turning back to the screen just as the image of a large rabid bear filled the screen.

"Where're the others?" Kai asked.

"They took the girls to an arcade a little while ago," Nya told him.

"Keegan hasn't come back?" Kai asked, though he knew the answer. Nya gave him a sympathetic look and shook her head before they both turned their attention back to the screen.

It still showed the bear which was ravaging through the far end of the village, the part closest to the forest. One good thing was that part of the village wasn't heavily populated. The houses were few and far between and many were old abandoned farmhouses.

"I guess I'd better call the others so we can go take care of him," Kai said as he dialed Cole's number on his wristband caller that each of them wore. He waited a minute as it rang, but no one answered. He pushed a button to clear the number before punching in Lloyd's. Still no answer. He tried Zane with the same results.

"This is crazy! Doesn't any of them answer their callers?" Kai exclaimed frustratedly slamming his fist onto the table.

"Uh, Kai?" Nya called and from the tone of her voice, he knew it was important. "I think you might ought to take a look at this." He walked over to stand beside her.

"What is it?" Kai asked.

"Look," she replied, pointing to the screen.

Kai looked. At first, he saw nothing except the bear and some houses and trees. Then something caught my eye. There was something else underneath one of the trees. Not just 'something' though, it was a person. As they emerged from underneath the tree, he gasped as he realized who it was.

"Keegan!" Kai yelled in alarm. He watched as the boy stood with a large stick in his hands, studying the bear who destroyed the nearest farmhouse with one swipe of his giant paw. As the bear turned, he caught sight of Keegan. The boy stood his ground, staring the bear straight in the eyes.

"What does he think he's doing? He needs to get out of there," Nya said.

Kai was silent, watching the screen. For a moment, it seemed like time stood still as the boy and bear stared in into each others eyes. Determination and stubbornness was written all over the fourteen year old's face. Then, without a warning, the bear charged.

"Run!" Kai yelled, as though Keegan could hear him. The boy was prepared for the attack though and expertly evaded it. The bear rushed past him and roared angrily. He whirled around and ran at Keegan as fast as he could. But again, Keegan was ahead of him, running at top speed into the forest.

"That boy is crazy! I've got to go help him," Kai yelled as he ran onto the deck.

"Kai, wait! You can't do it by yourself!" Nya called as she ran after him.

"Go get the others and meet me there!" he replied, calling back at her over his shoulder as he jumped over the railing while whipping his sword out from behind his back and into his blade cycle.

It seemed like it took hours before Kai reached the edge of the village instead of minutes. When he arrived at the forest, Kai turned his cycle back into his sword and made his way through the trees, easily following the wide, roughly cut path made by the bear. As got deeper into the forest, the bear's roaring began to grow louder and Kai knew he was almost there. Then he saw them. Keegan stood, his feet apart, determination still written on his face, brandishing the stick which seemed to have shrunken somewhat. He stared intently into the bear's eyes and, surprisingly enough, the bear was staring back into Keegan's. It was as if some kind of spell had been placed on the bear. The two stood there staring into each other's eyes for about a minute, though to Kai it seemed like an eternity. Then, something flashed across Keegan's face. He looked a little less determined as a flicker of fear appeared on his face. The bear seemed to sense the boy's fear and acted on it. He reared up on his hind legs and roared with all his might before landing on all fours with a thud and charging full speed towards Keegan.

"Keegan, run!" Kai shouted at the boy. But he didn't run. He didn't even move. He stood there, as if he wax frozen in place, his eyes unblinking as the bear continued to charge at him. He was getting closer. In a few seconds, he would reach him.

Without thinking about himself, Kai took off running towards Keegan. He had to get to him before the bear did. He had to. He glanced at the bear. It was almost to Keegan. With all the strength he had in him, Kai took a running leap and closed the gap between him and his son, using his body to push him out of the way just as the bear attacked.

Oh no! What do you think happens next? Tell me in the reviews!


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 14

I AM SOOO EXCITED! I can't believe how many reviews the last chapter got! I guess everyone's enjoying reading this as much as I am enjoying writing it! Thanks soooo much for taking time to write them! Id like to thank Guest for giving an idea for this chapter! (You have to read this chapter to find out what it was!) Well, here it is as promised, the next chapter! And keep the reviews coming and you might be surprised by how fast I can update!

Anyway, enjoy this next chapter!

Chapter 14

The bear's claws raked across Kai's chest as he threw himself in front of Keegan, using his body to shield the boy from the bear's attacks. Both Kai and Keegan were thrown to the ground, Keegan from the force of Kai's weight and Kai from the force of bear's claws. Kai held back a cry as he felt the bear's claws rip through his skin. The pain was almost unbearable. That one slash had zapped all of his energy out of him. He didn't feel like he could get back up. Why did he have to?

Keegan. He had to protect Keegan. Forcing himself to his feet, he yanked Keegan up as well.

"Run!" Kai commanded, shoving Keegan towards the safety of the trees. Wide eyed with fear, the boy obeyed, stopping a safe distance away.

Kai, satisfied that Keegan was out of harm's way, turned his attention to the bear. He watched as the bear's giant figure stretched up to his full height and roared so loudly that Kai could almost feel the ground beneath his feet shake with terror. Coming back down on all fours with a thump, the bear again charged at Kai. This time, though, Kai was ready. He grabbed his sword from behind his back and brandished it in front of him, ablaze with fire. Most normal animals were afraid of fire. But this wasn't any normal animal. This bear was rabid. This was evident by the fact that he was foaming at the mouth. If he saw the fiery sword, it didn't stop him from his charge. Just as the bear reached him, Kai jumped out of the way, slashing the bear with the sword as he moved past. The bear yowled in pain. When he turned around, he was angrier than before. This time, he didn't stop to roar before charging. He just charged. Again, Kai was able to evade being trampled and used his sword to give the bear another good slash. But the bear didn't move completely past Kai before he whirled around and attacked again, catching Kai off guard. The bear slashed at him with his claws, throwing Kai to the ground with such force that he knocked the wind out of him. Kai groaned as he hit the ground, closing his eyes. This was it. This had to be it. The bear was gonna kill him. He knew that his wounds were bleeding profusely now, quickly draining his energy and strength from him. He didn't think he even had enough strength left to get back to his feet. Kai opened his eyes and saw the bear raise himself up onto his hind legs and begin to roar louder than he did before. Then, an idea struck Kai. Turning his head to the side, he was thankful to find his sword beside him. Picking it up, he forced himself to his feet. He quickly took aim and as the bear finished his roar, Kai threw the sword with all of his remaining strength. The flaming sword flew through the air and landed directly through the bear's heart, sending him to the ground beside the unconscious Kai just as the other ninja burst through the trees.

"Kai!" Cole yelled in alarm as they rushed to him. Kneeling beside him, Cole and Zane began to assess his injuries while Lloyd and the girls watched anxiously.

Timidly, Keegan joined them. He knew Kai had been hurt badly. And it was all his fault. Kai had been trying to protect him. He felt tears come to his eyes as he remembered with regret the last conversation he had had with him. Why had he said those things to him? Looking at the injured figure lying on the ground in front of him, Keegan realized something. This WAS his father.

The front and back of Kai's red uniform had been torn to shreds. Large slash wounds covered his chest and back as well as a few smaller ones on his arms, legs, and face.

"Is he-?" Lloyd couldn't finish the question. The others knew what he was asking, though.

"He's alive," Zane told them.

The noise of a chain being lowered behind them told them that Nya had brought the Bounty. Within minutes, she was at Kai's side.

"Kai!" she exclaimed, gasping as she saw his injuries.

"He's alive," Zane told her as she knelt beside him.

"We have to get him on the Bounty. I can treat his wounds there," Nya said to the others. Lloyd ran to fetch a stretcher and he, Zane, and Cole carefully maneuvered Kai onto it and then onto the ship. They carefully placed him on the bed in the ship's infirmary while Nya gathered the necessary supplies to clean and treat Kai's wounds.

"Do you need us to help?" Cole asked her. She looked up at him with tear filled eyes.

"Do you know how to sew a stitch?" she asked him in reply. He nodded. "Then you might need to stay. I'm not seeing very well right now," she replied.

Zane shooed the others out of the room, leaving Nya and Cole to tend to Kai.

An hour later, Cole found everyone in the dining room. Zane had fixed supper and for once, no one seemed to be hungry. They all looked up as he entered.

"How's Uncle Kai?" Jayne asked.

"The same," Cole answered, sitting down in his empty place. "We got his wounds cleaned and stitched up, but he's not doing too good."

"Nya still with him?" Lloyd asked. Cole nodded.

"She's trying so hard to be strong," Cole told them. "She refuses to allow herself to break down and cry."

"It might help her if she would instead of bottling everything up inside of her," Sensei said. Cole agreed.

The next morning, Kai still hadn't woken up. Nya refused to leave his side. The others tried to get her to go rest, but she insisted that she was going to stay with Kai. His condition seemed to be getting worse. A high fever had set in during the night, causing Kai to cry out and toss and turn in the bed.

"Why is his fever so bad?" Lloyd asked when he came in yo check on Kai and see if Nya needed any help.

"The bear must've had some kind of infection on his claws that got into Kai's wounds when he scratched him," Nya replied.

"Do you think he's going to be all right?" Lloyd wondered. Nya turned her red, tearful eyes towards him. She didn't have to respond, Lloyd could see her fear evident in her eyes.

"I don't know," she replied, tears streaming down her face. She looked back at her brother, lying helplessly in the bed. She had never seen him so helpless. He had always been there for her when she needed him. Always strong; always sure, ready to comfort and protect her from anything that even remotely threatened her. Now, he was the one that was hurt. She knew she was going to have to be strong for him. But it was so hard. He had to be okay. He just HAD to. Besides the girls, Kai was the only family she had left. She had lost her parents and then Jay. She couldn't bare to loose him too. She covered her face with her hands as the tears began to come. Her shoulders began to shake with sobs.

Lloyd watched as she lost the battle the with her feelings and the let herself cry. His heart broke for her. Kai and Nya were so close. He remembered how he had often wished he had a sibling he could be that close to. He had seen Nya upset many times and Kai had always comforted her. But now, it was Kai she was crying over.

Hesitantly, Lloyd moved beside Nya and put his arm around her.

"It's okay, Nya," he told her. Nya tuned to him and buried her face in his shoulder as she cried, grateful for Lloyd's comfort. He held her until she was finished crying.

Finally, her sobs slowed and pushed away from Lloyd, sniffling.

"Are you okay?" he asked her. She nodded.

"Thank you," she told him. He nodded.

"No problem," he said as he left the room.

He walked out into the deck. Keegan was there, attacking a stuffed dummy. He reminded Lloyd of Kai when he got angry. Lloyd watched as the boy continued to attack the dummy, which he had already knocked to the floor of the deck. Spotting a seam about to break loose, Lloyd stopped Keegan.

"Whoa there, Hotshot," he said. Keegan stood there panting, glaring at the defeated dummy. "What's got you so worked up?" Keegan sighed.

"You wouldn't understand," he told Lloyd as he walked over to the lean against the railing.

"Try me," Lloyd said. Keegan gave Lloyd a surveying glance. Then he sighed again.

"Let's say someone very close to you abandoned you when you years ago and then he shows up and wants you to forgive him and asks for a second chance. What would you do?" Keegan asked. Lloyd studied the boy thoughtfully. What was he talking about? Who was he referring to?

"Well, I guess it depends on who it was and why they left. They might've had a good reason for abandoning you," Lloyd replied. "Has someone done that to you?"

"Yes," Keegan said. "My father left before I was born. The only things I knew about my father were things that my mother told me about him. Earlier today, he told me he was my father. I refused to believe it. I told him that I wasn't his son and ran off." Keegan paused for a moment. "And now it's my fault that he's hurt. If he doesn't make it, I'll be the one to blame." The boy felt tears begin to fill in his eyes as he desperately tried to blink them away.

Lloyd's eyes were wide as he tried to process what he'd just heard. Kai was Keegan's father? That explains how come the boy looked and acted so much like Kai. So that was why Kai had took the bear on by hisself.

"I know how you feel about your father abandoning you," Lloyd told him. Keegan looked up at him in surprise. "My mother abandoned me at a school when I was a baby. My father used to be the lord of the underworld."

"You're kidding!" Keegan said. Lloyd shook his head. "But you all seem so happy together."

"That's because we forgave each other. Everyone makes mistakes. Some people's are just bigger than others. But you have to forgive them if you ever want to be happy. You don't want to carry bitterness around with you. All it dies is turn you into a mean person. Believe me, I know," Lloyd said. "Once we forgave each other, we were able to start over again in building our relationships with each other. It took a little while, but it was well worth it."

Keegan nodded thoughtfully.

"I guess I do need to forgive him," he told Lloyd. "I really do love him and I want to get to know him." He sighed. "I just hope he'll be all right."

Lloyd put his hand on his shoulder.

"You just keep faith. Kai's a strong man. He'll fight this. We're all pulling for him." Keegan smiled up at him.

"Thanks," he said. Lloyd nodded and walked off, leaving the boy to his thoughts.

A week later, Kai's fever finally broke. Everyone rejoiced. Kai still had not woken up yet, but at least he was sleeping peacefully. Sensei and the others had finally been able to convince Nya to get some rest. She had agreed, but only if they moved another bed into the infirmary with Kai.

Quietly, Keegan slipped into the room. Nya was still asleep on her bed. He crept up to Kai's bed and sat in the chair next to his bed. He looked down at the man lying in front of him. It was hard to believe that this was his father. This was the man he had always dreamed of. His father had risked his life to keep him safe. Yes, he had made some mistakes, but he was trying to make up for them. He loved him. Keegan again felt tears come to his eyes as he thought about what his last words had been to Kai.

"I don't know if you can hear me," Keegan said softly to Kai. "But I want to tell you that I'm sorry for what I said to you the other day. I didn't really mean them. I was just surprised and hurt. But I know it was wrong of me to say those things. I talked to Lloyd about it. He told me about his parents abandoning him. He told me I should forgive you and not keep bitterness towards you. Well, that's what I'm going to do. I understand that you did what you thought was right before. I want you to know that I do forgive you." He was silent for a moment as he wiped the tears from his face. "Please, get better soon. I need you. I want yo get to know you better. I want to be your son." He paused before adding a tearful, "I love you, Dad." Burying his face in the his hands, the boy began to cry softly.

He didn't know how long he'd been crying, maybe five to ten minutes, when he heard a a rustling sound and felt someone touch his knee. At first, he thought it wax Nya, until he heard a weak voice.

"Shh, it's okay, son. Don't cry," Kai said softly. Keegan dropped his hands to look into his father's face. Kai's eyes were open and his lips formed a tiny smile. His hand rested on Keegan's knee.

"Dad! You're awake!" Keegan exclaimed. Kai smiled a little more.

"Well, what did you expect? It takes more than one measly little bear to take me out," his father replied. Keegan smiled.

"I love you, Dad," he said. Kai opened his arms slowly and Keegan hugged him, being careful not to press on his wounds.

"I love you too, Son," Kai told him as he fell asleep again, a smile on his face.

Well, what did you think? What do you think happens next? I might show the twins some more in the next chapter, not quite sure yet though.

Also, see if you can guess what Keegan's element is! I left some clues in the last chapter so if you read carefully, you might be able to find them! ;-)


	17. Chapter 16

100 REVIEWS! I cannot believe it! Thanks so much to everyone who's read and reviewed this story! Without all of you, I probably wouldn't have made this story this long! Actually, it was my original plant to have this story only have between 12-15 chapters! And here we are at chapter 15 and this story's not even half done yet! Anyway, here's the next chapter!

Chapter 15

"Hit him, Son! Ooh, watch out, Kailee! Attagirl! There you go, Jayne! Good job!" Kai was sitting in a easy chair on the deck watching the others train the twins and Keegan. It had been about a mouth since his run in with the bear and his wounds were almost completely healed, but still Nya wouldn't let him help in the training sessions. So, he sat on the deck and pretended to be the supervisor, calling instructions and tips out to them.

Lloyd was teaching Keegan the basics of how to defend yourself. Although it hasn't been determined whether he was a ninja yet, anyone who lived on the Bounty was required to know how to defend themselves.

"Good hit! You're catching on quicker than I thought you would," Lloyd told Keegan.

"Well, I had picked up a few techniques of self-defense when I was living on the streets," Keegan replied.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that," Lloyd said. "I'm ready for a break. How bout you?" Keegan nodded.

"I thought you'd never say that!" he told Lloyd with a laugh.

"Good training session, Son," Kai praised Keegan as he approached. Keegan wiped the sweat from his forehead and pushed his wild red curls out of his face.

"Thanks, Dad," he replied, taking a seat next to him. "I think I've almost got it."

"Yeah, I think so too," Kai agreed. "Won't be long and you'll be able to block any move we can throw at you." Keegan chuckled.

"I don't know about that, but I'll be able to take you at least," he teased. Kai looked at him, his eyebrow raised in disbelief.

"Oh, so you think you can take me, huh?" he asked. Keegan nodded.

"Yeah, I think I can," the boy replied.

"Well, how bout we find out right now?" Kai said getting up from his chair. He stood in his battle stance facing Keegan as the boy stood in a stance similar to Kai's. The two circled each other, studying the other's every movement.

Keegan broke in first and lunged at his father. Kai dodged the move expertly and threw one of his own.

"Kai! What on earth are you doing?" Nya exclaimed as she came on the deck. Both Kai and Keegan stopped their 'fight' and turned to face her.

"I was proving to this young hotshot here that I could still whip him any day," Kai answered. Nya glared at him.

"You know you're not supposed to be doing that kind of stuff yet," she reminded him.

"But, Nya, I'm perfectly fine!" Kai told her. "You haven't been letting me do anything except sit and watch. I'm tired of just watching everything."

"In just trying to keep you from ripping your stitches out and re-injuring yourself," Nya said. "Once your stitches come out next week, you can do what ever crazy thing you what to do, and I won't stop you. But until then," she said as she led Kai back to his chair, "you're going to sit right here and not move a muscle."

Kai sighed in defeat as his sister gently pushed him into his chair. He knew it was useless to argue with her. That he had learned early.

"Well, I've been out of commission for a whole month so far. I guess a few more days wont kill me," Kai said.

"No, that'll give some more time to practice up so I can be sure to beat you," Keegan told him. Kai looked at Nya with a pleading look on his face.

"Nya?" he begged. Her reply was a glare and he dropped his head and pouted. Keegan chuckled.

"All right, Keegan. You ready to get back to work?" Lloyd asked as he joined them on deck.

"Ready when you are!" the boy replied, getting up from his chair to follow Lloyd onto the training floor of the deck.

A little further away from the others, Zane was trying to teach Jayne how to control her ice powers. She held her golden bow and arrow poised in her hands, aiming at the cloth dummy that Zane had attached a target to.

"Concentrate on what your trying to do," Zane instructed her. He put his hands on her tense shoulders. "Relax, breathe deeply and slowly," he said. He felt the tension in her shoulders begin to wane as she followed his instructions. "There, now aim at the target, concentrate, and shoot." She let the arrow fly and it missed the target completely, embedding itself in the dummy about a foot below the target. Jayne stomped her foot in frustration as Zane went to fetch the arrow.

"Why can't I get it?" she asked.

"It takes practice," Zane replied, handing her the arrow. "Try it again. And concentrate on your element."

"But I have two elements. Which one do you want me to concentrate on?" Jayne asked.

At this point, I'd settle for either, Zane thought to himself, but to Jayne he said, "Ice." She nodded and closed her eyes.

"Think, ice, think, ice, think, ice," she whispered softly to herself. Opening her eyes, she took careful aim and let the arrow fly. The arrow landed directly in the bullseye of the target. But no ice.

"Ugh!" Jayne groaned in frustration. Zane brought the arrow back to her.

"You figured out how to aim it right," Zane said.

"Yeah, but I can't get my element to work," Jayne replied, testily.

"Try it again," Zane told her gently.

"Why?" she asked on the verge of tears. "I've been trying it again and again all day, every day for the past week and still I can't get it to work."

"Jayne, you just need practice," the white ninja told her.

"No! What I need is to stop fooling myself," she said. "I can't control ice. And who knows? I probably can't control lightning either." With that, she threw down her bow and arrow and ran off the Bounty, tears streaming down her face.

Meanwhile, Cole was teaching Kailee how to control her strength. The earth element had always been present in the fact that her punches and kicks were stronger than normal, but she had to learn how to channel that strength into her weapon and how to hold it back when she didn't need to cause too much damage.

"All right, now hold your weapon like this," Cole positioned the golden double dagger in her hand as he talked. "Concentrate on what you're trying to do."

Kailee nodded closed her eyes to concentrate. When she opened get eyes, she pulled her arm back and hit her double dagger into the stack if wooden beams in front of her with all her might. Pulling her arm back, she found that only half of the beam had been split.

"Why is this so hard?" she asked Cole. "I've never had any trouble using my strength before."

"That's because you only used a little bit of it," Cole explained. "You are much stronger than you know. But you have to learn to control it. Try it again."

She did try again with no better results. "Ugh!" she groaned, her temper beginning to rise up. "This is too hard! I can't do it!"

"Yes you can, you just need practice," Cole told her.

"No I can't! You're expecting too much from me!" Kailee exclaimed. Her hazel eyes were now flaming as she threw down her weapon and stormed off the Bounty and out into the forest.

Everyone on the Bounty watched as each twin fled into the forest. Nya started to go after them, but Sensei stopped her.

"Let them go," he told her. "They need some time to themselves."

Once in the forest, Jayne kept running as if her life depended on it. She didn't stop until she tripped over a tree root which left her sprawled on the ground. Sitting up, she leaned up against the tree and continued her cry. This wasn't fair! How come she couldn't control her elements and the other ninja could? They made it look so easy. But it wasn't. Maybe Sensei had made a mistake. Maybe she really wasn't a ninja.

Just out of Jayne's earshot, Kailee stood glaring into the river. Angrily, she picked up a small stone and threw it into the river, making a splash. Thoughts similar to Jayne's rushed through her mind. She had always been stronger than most girls her age and though she didn't know it at the time, it was due to her earth element. Why couldn't she get the hang of controlling it? It didn't make sense.

Nya was standing on the deck of the Bounty, staring out into the forest. It was beginning to get dark and still the girls had not returned.

"Something interesting to look at out there?" Kai asked as he leaned against the railing beside her. She sighed loudly.

"Not what I want to see," she replied. "Or should I saw 'who.'" Kai looked at her sympathetically.

"I'm sure they're all right," Kai assured her. "They probably just wandered out a little farther than they realized." They were quiet for a moment.

"Do you think we should go look for them?" Nya wondered. Kai shook his head.

"Let's wait a little longer," he said. "If they're not back in an hour, I'll go look for them."

"By that time it'll be completely dark," Nya reminded him. Kai straightened up and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Nya, stop worrying so much," he told her. "I'll bet they're on their way back here right now." Nya smiled at him.

"You're probably right," she agreed. "I just can't help worrying, though."

"Hey, you're a mother," Kai said. "That's a mother's job."

Kailee looked up from the boulder she was sitting on and realized it getting dark. I wonder where Jayne is, she thought. She had seen her run off the Bounty just before she did.

'I'm over here,' Kailee heard someone say. Looking around and seeing no one, she called out, "Who's there?"

But there was something strange about the reply she got. She didn't hear it with her ears, but instead it was as if some one was inside her head, talking to her.

'I'm over here behind the big tree,' the voice said. It sounded like Jayne's voice.

"Jayne?" Kailee said out loud. This didn't make any sense. How could Jayne's voice be talking to her inside her head? I wonder if I can talk back to her like that? Kailee thought.

Closing her eyes and concentrating, she tried to tell Jayne through her thoughts where she was. A few minutes later, Jayne appeared thoroughly the trees.

"There you are," she said when she saw Kailee.

"How did you find me?" Kailee asked, beginning to wonder if she was going crazy.

"I'm not sure exactly," Jayne replied. "I was sitting over there behind a big tree when I heard some one inside my head asking me where I was and then it told me to come to the river."

"It worked!" Kailee exclaimed, jumping to her feet in excitement.

"What worked?" Jayne asked, puzzled.

"Don't you see? That was me talking to you!" Kailee told her.

"But how? There's no way I could've heard you from where I was sitting," Jayne said.

"I don't know how, but somehow we can communicate with each other through our thoughts," Kailee explained.

"What?" Jayne asked, still not getting what her sister was saying. She was beginning to wonder whether they both were going crazy.

"Look let's just try it again," Kailee said. "You stand right there and I'm gonna go over here and try to send a message to you through my thoughts." Jayne nodded, though she still wasn't sure about it. Kailee walked a little ways off and turned her back to her sister. She closed her eyes and concentrated.

From behind her, Jayne giggled. Kailee turned towards her.

"What's so funny?" she wondered.

"You said that Uncle Kai's hairdo looks like a chicken with its feathers ruffled!" Jayne replied, still giggling. Then she stopped and looked at Kailee carefully. "Is that what you said?" Kailee's smile answered her question.

"Yes!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, wow! I can't believe this!" Jayne exclaimed, her cool blue eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Can you imagine how much this will come in handy when we're battling Serpentine?" Kailee asked. "I can't wait to see the other's faces when we tell them what just happened!"

"Speaking of which, shouldn't we be getting back to the Bounty?" Jayne reminded her. "It's getting dark and you know how Mama is."

"You're right. First one back's a rotten ninja!" Kailee yelled over her shoulder as she took off running at top speed, weaving around through the trees, heading towards the ship.

"That's not fair!" Jayne yelled back as she chased after her sister, both of them laughing and shouting back and forth at each other as they raced.

How do you think the others will react when they find out about the twins' new ability? I already have the next chapter written and if I can get five reviews or more for this chapter, I will upload it tonight! So please everyone, REVEIW!


	18. Chapter 17

Well, I asked for at least five reviews on that last chapter and I got six! Yay! So, as promised, here's the next chapter! Also, someone asked if Jay would be coming back soon. I do plan on bringing him back, but I'm not sure how soon that will be though. ;-( You never can tell what I'll think up next! ;-) For instance, Kai was never supposed to have a son; that was added as I was writing this! Oh, and I'd like to wish happy 11th birthday to Faith (i love marshall lee)! Thanks so much for your message! I LOVE hearing from my readers! any of you are welcome to PM me anytime you want! Anyway, enough rambling! On to the next chapter! ;-)

Chapter 16

Jayne and Kailee ran up the ramp onto the Bounty, laughing and panting for breath. They threw themselves down onto the deck.

"I- beat- you!" Kailee panted to Jayne as she lay on her back.

"The- only- reason- you- won- was- because- you- cheated!" Jayne retorted.

"I didn't cheat!" Kailee protested. "You're just too slow." With that, she stood to her feet. Quick as a flash, before she could react, Jayne had grabbed her and flipped her flat on her back on the deck.

"Who's too slow now?" Jayne taunted as she pinned her sister down.

"Let me up," Kailee demanded, trying to push Jayne off of her. But the way Jayne had her pinned down, she couldn't seem to get in a position that would give her room to push her sister off. Jayne knew it and smiled.

"Not until you admit that you cheated," she told the dark haired girl. Kailee sighed in defeat.

"All right, maybe I did cheat," Kailee admitted. Jayne moved and Kailee scrambled to her feet. "But you're still slow," she added, a mischievous twinkle in her hazel eyes. Jayne stopped dusting herself off and narrowed her eyes at her sister's latest remark. She lunged at her, but this time Kailee was ready. Sidestepping, Kailee countered with a light punch to her sister's shoulder.

"See, what'd I tell ya? You're slow," Kailee teased. Jayne rolled her eyes at her sister's teasing.

"Kailee, Jayne, where have you two been?" Nya asked, her voice firm as she climbed up the stairs and onto the deck. The girls immediately forgot their 'fight' and turned to face their mother. Even though she tried to hide it, the expression on her face told them that she had been worried.

"We're sorry, Mama," Jayne apologized, her cool blue eyes full of remorse.

"I guess we just lost track of the time," Kailee told her. Nya sighed, giving each of them a hug.

"It's all right," she told them. "Just don't let it happen again." The twins nodded.

"We won't, Mama," Kailee promised.

"Supper's getting cold!" Cole yelled from the kitchen. "Come and get it!" The girls groaned.

"Do we have to?" Jayne muttered just loud enough for Kailee and Nya to hear her. Kailee giggled and Nya pretended to look upset, but the girls saw the twinkle in her eyes and the smile she tried to hide.

"Maybe we should've stayed out longer," Kailee said. "Then maybe there wouldn't be anything left of supper to eat." Jayne burst into laughter and Nya gave Kailee a light, scolding slap on the arm.

Kailee and Jayne were still trying to get control of their giggles as they joined the others in the dining room.

"What's so funny?" Kai asked, sending them a puzzled look. The girls exchanged glances as they took their seats at the table and burst into giggles again. Nya rolled her eyes, taking her seat on the bench beside them. Cole entered carrying a large covered platter to table. Setting it in the middle, he proudly lifted the cover, revealing a beautifully browned bird resting on a bed of lettuce, carrots, and potatoes. Everyone stared in amazement.

"Wow!"

"That looks amazing!"

"I wonder if it tastes as good as it looks."

"It almost looks as good as Zane's cooking!"

"Cole, did you really make that?" Kai asked, not totally convinced that the bird was Cole's cooking and not Zane's. Cole looked at him with a hurt expression.

"Yes I made it!" he answered testily. Kai held up his hands in surrender.

"All right, all right, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I was just making sure."

"I wish everyone would stop talking so I can see if this bird tastes as wonderful as it looks," Lloyd told the others as Cole began distributing slices of meat and vegetables into the other's awaiting plates.

Hungrily, Lloyd took a bite of the meat first. He chewed slowly, the look on his face was thoughtful. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide and he began coughing. He grabbed his full glass of water and downed the entire thing.

"What's wrong with it?" Cole asked, confused. Lloyd set the empty glass on the table as he took a deep breath before answering.

"Cole, how much seasoning did you use?" he asked. Cole thought for a minute.

"1/4 cup of cayenne pepper," he said. Everyone looked at each other before bursting into laughter. Cole continued to look confused. "What? That's what the recipe said."

"What recipe did you use?" Zane asked, as the laughter died down.

"The one you always use," Cole replied. "Here, I'll go get it." He ran out of the room and returned a few minutes later with a piece of paper in his hand which he handed to Zane. "See? Right there, it says 1/4 cup." Nya studied the paper from over Zane's shoulder. She burst into laughter again.

"Cole," she said between giggles. "That says 1/4 tsp.!"

"How can you tell that? There's a stain partially covering it up," Cole asked.

"Well, only the letter that is unreadable is the middle one and the first one is clearly a 't'and the last a 'p'," Zane told him.

"And besides that, no one in their right mind would put 1/4 cup of cayenne pepper in this recipe, let alone in just about any other 'good' recipe you can find," Nya added as everyone else again burst into laughter. Except for Jayne. Her mother's last statement seemed to have reminded her of something.

"Kailee! We forgot to tell them!" she exclaimed. Kailee stopped laughing and looked at her puzzled, as did everyone else.

"What?" Kailee asked.

"You know!" Jayne insisted. "About us being able to talk to each other through our thoughts." Kailee's face lit up in remembrance.

"Oh yeah!" she exclaimed.

"What are you two talking about?" Kai wondered. The twins' faces were glowing with excitement as they began to explain.

"Sometime after we ran off this afternoon, I was standing beside the river and began wondering where Jayne was since I knew she had run off just before I did and all of the sudden I hear this voice in my head that sounded just like Jayne and it was telling me that she was a little ways off behind some trees. I thought I was going crazy at first but I was sure it was Jayne's voice so I thought that maybe I could talk back to her like that so I concentrated real hard and told her where I was," Kailee said in a rush. Jayne jumped in right then.

"I heard Kailee's voice in my head telling me to go to the river so I did and sure enough, there was Kailee," she continued just as hurriedly as Kailee had. The others' faces still showed confusion.

"So you're saying that you two can each other messages with your thoughts?" Lloyd asked, his disbelief evident in his tone.

"Yes!" both girls exclaimed. When they still didn't believe them, Kailee added, "We'll show you! Jaynie, go over there and send me a message." Jayne nodded and moved over to stand in the far corner of the room, her back facing everyone. A few seconds of silence passed as Jayne concentrated on her task. Everyone's eyes shifted between the twins as they anxiously waited to see if it would really work.

Finally, Kailee's face lit up with excitement and she giggled. Jayne whirled around, wonderment evident on her face.

"Did you hear me?" she asked. Kailee nodded.

"What did she say, Kailee?" Keegan wanted to know.

"She said that your hair looks like a box-spring exploded and the springs got stuck on your head!" she answered, still giggling. keegan pretended to look shocked as everyone looked at his hair and started laughing.

"Is that really what you said?" Nya asked Jayne, who nodded.

"You know, now that you mention it, it kinda does look like that," Kai told his son.

"Well, yours doesn't look much different from mine," Keegan replied. Kai pretended to be offended.

"What's wrong with my hair?" he asked.

"Ask Kailee," Jayne told him. "She told me earlier that it looked like a chicken with its feathers ruffled." Kai's mouth opened in astonishment as the others laughed. When the laughter died down, Sensei pulled out a little velvet box and set it on the table.

"What's that, Sensei?" Zane asked.

"This is something special for the twins that I've been saving until it the time was right," Sensei replied. He motioned for them to stand in front of him. Looking deep into both girls' eyes in turn, he continued. "I know you've both been having some trouble controlling your elements. I think these might help."

With that, he opened the box, revealing the broken heart necklaces he had revealed at their birth. Carefully, he lifted each chain and pendant from the box and placed it gently around each girl's neck. As soon as each pendant neared the corresponding girl, it began glowing. The twins gasped in amazement as did everyone else.

"Now, both of you hold your pendant in your hand," Sensei instructed. Hesitantly, each of the them touched the pendant with their fingers. A bright glow surrounded them, blinding the others. The glow lasted for a few minutes.

As the light faded away, everyone looked at the twins in amazement. Their casual clothes had been replaced by ninja suits. Jayne's was light blue with a white dragon emblem on the front. Coming out of the dragon's mouth were a bolt of lightning and a stream of ice. Her shoulder pads were silver as well as her boots, gloves, and the triangle on her light blue mask. On the toe of each of her boots was a sparkling sapphire gem.

Kailee's suit was red with a black dragon similar to Jayne's on the front, except her dragon had a flame of fire and a stream of dirt shooting from its mouth. Her gloves, mask, and boots were all black, but the boots had a shiny red ruby gem on the toe and the mask had a gold triangle on it which matched her gold shoulder pads.

But what surprised them the most was the mark on one of each of their hands. It was one half of the broken heart shape, identical to each of their pendants. Kailee's half was in her right hand and Jayne's was on her left. The girls stared at their hands in astonishment.

"This solidifies the fact that you two are the chosen ones spoken of in the prophecy," Sensei told them. The girls exchanged glances, each thinking back to the fears they'd had earlier that day.

"So, they really can communicate with each other through their minds?" Nya asked. Sensei nodded.

"Just with each other, or can they do it with us too?" Cole asked.

"That I do not know," Sensei replied.

"Let's try it," Jayne said and Kailee nodded. Both girls closed their eyes and concentrated. When they opened them a few minutes later, they didn't have to ask if it had worked. Both of them had felt the barrier that had hindered their messages from going through.

"It didn't work," Kailee said.

"It seems that this is another part of the special bond between them," Sensei said.

"Wow! How cool is that? I wonder if I'm a ninja?" Keegan thought out loud. "Then maybe I could have special powers like that!"

"I believe that these 'powers' that the twins have are part of the prophecy," Zane told him. "So it is unlikely that you would get them too." Keegan pretended to pout and his cousins giggled.

"Oh, yeah! Ninja girls rule!" Kailee exclaimed, giving Jayne a high five. Sensei put his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Do not worry, Keegan," he said. "You must be patient. Your time will come."

What do you think Keegan's 'special power' will be? I dropped some hints a few chapters back. What did you think of this chapter? Please let me know in the reviews! Oh, and the idea for the phrase 'ninjagirls rule' came from a reader's suggestion they left in the reviews. i cant remember who suggested it, but if you're reading this, thanks for the suggestion! Also, if any of you have any ideas or suggestions for this story, please let me know! I love reading your thoughts and promise to take any idea into consideration! So, please review!


	19. Chapter 18

Here's the next chapter! I hope you like it! Also please check out I love Marshall Lee's story called little girl. She really has a great thought going on there! I'm trying to give her a little help with it, but I think she's a little discouraged about not getting reviews. Thanks so much; I know she'll appreciate it!

Anyway, on to the next chapter! ;-)

Chapter 17

The next day was bright and sunny. It was Zane's turn to make breakfast that morning so everyone awoke to the delicious aroma of homemade biscuits and sausage gravy.

"Mm-mm! Zane, you really have out done yourself this time!" Lloyd told him after he had taken an enormous bite of the biscuit he had sopped in his gravy. The twins giggled at his manners. The other ninja looked at them, confused at what they thought was funny. Nya rolled her eyes. After living with the ninja for almost sixteen years, she had gotten used to their bad manners. It wasn't surprising that Lloyd's manners were the worst. Even though the tomorrow's tea had made him the same age as the rest of the ninja, sometimes he still seemed to forget how old he actually was.

"So, what do you guys have planned for today?" Nya asked.

"I think it would be good to work with the girls on controlling their elements," Cole answered. "After all, we didn't make much progress yesterday." He gave the girls a sly grin and they groaned in disappointment.

"Do we have to?" Jayne asked.

"How are you gonna learn if you don't practice?" Kai asked her. She shrugged.

"I guess you're right," she replied with a sigh.

"Of course I am," Kai agreed, giving her a confident smile. "I always am." The others snorted.

"Oh, listen to the big bragger," Cole said sarcastically.

"Yeah, does anyone else think its getting hot?" Lloyd asked, a mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes. "Cause I think all Kai's hot air is making it hot in here!" Kai glared at him while the others laughed.

"I think you girls will do much better today," Zane told them once the laughter had died down. "After all, you both have your necklaces now."

Kailee held her pendant in the palm of her hand, carefully turning it over and examining it. She remembered the time that she and Jayne had found these necklaces in the box in their grandparents' attic. Now it made since why the pendants had glowed when the girls were near them. Gently, she touched the tiny black and ruby red gems that rested in the swirls that made up her half of the broken heart. She traced the intricate design of the golden swirls with her finger. Jayne's pendant had exactly the same design except that it was silver with tiny blue sapphires and diamonds set in it. Letting the pendant drop from her hand and dangle at the end of the tiny gold chain, she studied the identical mark on her palm. It was the exact design as the pendant, as if someone had traced it onto her palm, right down to the last detail. Even the places where the gemstones were had been marked on her hand. Jayne's pendant had also left a mark on her palm. Kailee wondered why the necklace had left these markings on their palms. 'Oh, well,' she thought with a little shrug of her shoulders. 'Maybe we'll find out someday.'

An hour later, the twins met Cole and Zane down on the deck, ready to start their next day of training. Both girls were wearing their new ninja suits. Kailee's jet black hair was pulled back in a ponytail, which was covered by her red mask. Jayne's white-blonde hair had been braided into a single braid that reached slightly past her waist. She had coiled it up under her light blue mask so it would be out of her way.

"All right, you girls ready to get to work?" Cole asked. Kailee and Jayne exchanged glances before nodding.

"Let's get to work then," Zane told them as he led Jayne to the other side of the deck, leaving Kailee with Cole.

"Ok, now, you know the routine," Zane told Jayne as she picked up her bow and arrow. She nodded before raising the arrow to the bow and pulling back the string. Squinting one closed, she carefully aimed at the target. She closed her eyes and concentrated. She could do this. She COULD do this! Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and double checked her aim before letting the arrow fly. With a loud whizzing sound, the arrow flew straight at the target, embedding itself deep into the center of the bullseye. Then, as Jayne gasped in surprise, ice began emerging from the arrow and soon the entire middle section of the dummy was covered in ice. Jayne stared in amazement.

"I did it," she said softly, still not believing it. She looked up at Zane's smiling face of approval. "I did it! I really did it!" Jayne yelled, laughing with excitement. Zane nodded.

"You sure did," he agreed. Then he nodded towards her neck. "Take a look at your necklace."

Jayne glanced down at her necklace. Her pendant was glowing. She touched it hesitantly. She could almost feel the power and the strength the necklace contained.

"You ready to keep practicing?" Zane asked, interrupting her thoughts. She nodded.

Meanwhile, Cole had again stacked about ten large beans of wood on two sawhorses. Now Kailee stood behind the stack, her eyes closed as she concentrated on summoning all the strength she could. Clutching the double dagger in her hand, she raised it high above her head and swiftly brought it down in the center of the wood stack with a loud CRACK. Slowly, she opened her eyes and gasped at what she saw. The dagger had cut completely through the center of each beam and was now embedded into the wooden deck where a small crack had now formed.

"Well, Kailee, I think you finally got the hang of it!" Cole laughed as he pulled the weapon out of the wood. She giggled, an enormous smile lighting up her face. Then she realized that the bright light was coming from her pendant. It was glowing!

"Can I do it again?" Kailee asked. Cole chuckled.

"Yeah, but first lets go get some more beams," he replied. "I think I'll stack fifteen this time."

By lunchtime, both girls had almost mastered the lessons that Cole and Zane had been teaching them. Excitedly, the twins told the others about their training successes.

"I couldn't believe I had actually done it!" Kailee exclaimed.

"Yeah, and then my necklace started glowing after I shot that arrow," Jayne told them.

"Wow! That's really neat!" Keegan said.

"Yeah, I'll bet you'll both do just as good with fire and lightning," Kai told them.

"Can we try after lunch?" Jayne asked. The other ninja laughed.

"I think that you've had enough of this kind of training for today," Sensei said. The girls faces dropped on disappointment.

"Oh, but Sensei, please?" Kailee begged. He shook his head.

"Besides there is something else you need practice with," he told them. Seeing their puzzled looks, he continued, "You need to practice your telepathic powers."

"Oh, yeah!" Jayne agreed.

"We really need to think up something else to call it besides that," Kailee told her sister. Jayne nodded.

"Yeah, it is kinda long," she agreed.

"How bout Thought Sending?" Cole suggested. Both girls wrinkled their noses in disgust.

"You could call it, Mind Communication," Zane suggested.

"Uncle Zane, that's not any better than Telepathic Powers," Jayne told him. He shrugged his shoulders.

"It was just a thought," he replied. Suddenly, Kailee slammed her fist down on the table in excitement, causing the entire table to shake.

"Kailee, watch what you're doing!" Nya scolded her.

"Sorry, Mom, but I just thought of the perfect name!" Kailee announced.

"What is it?" Keegan asked.

"Mind Messaging!" Kailee said with a smile.

"That's perfect!" Jayne told her, matching her sister's smile with one of her own. The others agreed that they liked it.

"Anyway, I want the two of you to spent the rest of the day practicing," Sensei said.

"Can we go out into the forest?" Kailee wondered.

"As long as you're back before dark," Nya answered.

"Can I go with them?" Keegan asked.

"Sure, I think that would be good," Kai told him. Keegan smiled.

The three young teens spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the forest. Kailee and Jayne practiced their new Mind Messaging while conversing out loud with Keegan. The girls found out that the more they practiced, the easier it got. They didn't have to concentrate as hard anymore.

"So, Keegan, you like living on the Bounty?" Kailee asked her cousin.

"Yeah, it's really neat," he replied.

'I still can't believe we're cousins,' Jayne told Kailee through her mind.

'I know, but you gotta admit, he does look like Uncle Kai,' Kailee sent back.

"How long did you live on the streets?" Kailee asked Keegan out loud.

"About five years," he replied. "When my mother first died, I went to live with my grandfather. But he didn't want me and made sure that I knew it. So after about a month, I ran away. I found out that he died about a year later."

'How sad! His grandfather didn't want him!" Jayne thought.

"Yeah, I can't imagine how I'd feel if Grandpa didn't want us,' Kailee sent back.

"What happened to your mother?" Jayne asked Keegan.

"She was killed in a car accident," he replied, his voice thick with emotion. "Her car ran off the road into river." He picked up a stick and began playing in the dirt.

"You know, our dad died when we were little," Kailee told him. Keegan nodded.

"I knew that," he said. "What happened?"

"Mama says he had gone on a mission to Torchfire Mountain with the other ninja to get the golden weapons when the volcano began to erupt and he slipped and fell down into the lava," Kailee told him.

"She says that Uncle Kai blamed himself for Dad's dying," Jayne added. "Sometimes I think he still does."

They were silent for a moment, each thinking their own thoughts.

"I'm thirsty," Jayne said. "Im going to get a drink from the river. Is anyone else thirsty?" She looked at her sister and cousin. They shook their heads. "All right, I'll be right back."

Jayne quickly made her way through the trees towards the sound of the river. Reaching it, she knelt down on the bank and emerged her hands in the cool, refreshing water. She cupped her hands together and lifted some of the water to her mouth. Sighing with delight, she again scooped up more and drank that too.

A faint rustling sound was heard behind her, but Jayne paid no attention to it, dismissing it as an animal moving around in the brush. She continued to scoop up the water and drink it until she'd had enough. Standing to her feet, Jayne turned around and gasped in surprise. Behind her, blocking her escape, were six serpentine from various tribes. The leader chuckled.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here, boysss?" he asked the other serpentine with an evil grin on his face.

"It lookssss like a ninja, bosssss," one of the hypnobrai answered.

"Yes, but itsss not just any ninja," Scales told them. "Thisss issss one of the ninjasss' twinssss." The other serpentine looked at each other with puzzled expressions.

"But, Bosssss, what'sss ssso important about that?" one of the constrictai wondered.

"Becaussse , the ninjassss' twinsss are girlsssss,"

Scales replied.

"Ssssso?" another hypnobrai asked.

"Our ordersssss are to capture one of the girlsssss!" Scales exclaimed, getting annoyed at the addle brained serpents that were currently under his command.

"Oh!" the others finally understood.

Jayne was practically shaking in her boots. She was afraid of what these serpentine could to her. But she knew she couldn't let them see that. 'Why didn't Kailee come with me?' she thought to herself. 'Wait a minute! I can message her!' she remembered. 'Kailee, serpentine are by the river! I'm surrounded!' she sent to her sister.

Praying that Kailee got her message, Jayne took a deep breath to steady herself and, with all the courage she could muster, she looked Scales straight in the eye.

"What do you want with me?" she demanded. The serpentine general clicked his tongue.

"Oh no, we don't demand anything from the ssserpentine, now do we?" he asked. The others laughed.

"No, bosssss, it only leadssss to more trouble," one of the venomari answered.

"Yesss, that'ssss correct," Scales said. He leaned over so that his face was right at Jayne's eye level. Jayne cringed, but held back the urge to do it visibly. Scales' face was only a few inches from hers and she could feel heat from his breath as he continued talking.

"We don't want that now, do we?" he asked her.

Jayne's answer wasn't in words. Instead, she pulled her hand back and before the serpentine leader could react, her fist connected hard with his lower jaw. Scales jerked back and howled in pain. Jayne resisted the urge to massage her stinging knuckles and instead, reached behind her back to remove her bow and an arrow. Fitting the arrow to the bow, she raised both of them and pulled back the string. She knew that really this weapon probably wouldn't help her much. If she was to shoot it, she wouldn't be able to hit more than one serpentine and as soon as she did, the others would probably attack her. Still, holding her weapon made her feel a little better.

Scales glared at her with hatred in his eyes as he massaged his lower jaw that was still stinging in pain.

"Get her!" he yelled at the other serpentine standing around him.

Jayne tried to fight them off, but it was no use. She was no match for five serpentine. Jerking her bow and arrow from her hands, the serpentine grabbed her and held her so tightly that she couldn't move, let alone breathe.

"That wassss a very foolisssh thing to do," Scales told her, his voice thick with hatred and evil. Then he chuckled evilly. "You're gonna regret doing that!"

Oh no! What do you think Scales is gonna do to Jayne? And do you think Kailee got her sister's message? Tell me your thoughts in the reviews!

And pick your favorite character from the list and answer this question- what would you do if you were _?

Jayne

Kailee

Scales

Keegan

Thanks for reading and reveiwing! ;-)


	20. Chapter 19

Here's the next chapter! I know this one is a little bit shorter than usual, but I thought the ending seemed like the perfect place to stop. You have to read the chapter to find out what I'm talking about! ;-)

Also, please read I love Marshall lee's new chapter on her story NINJAGO: The Next Chapter. I've been helping her edit it so please go check it out and be sure to review! ;-)

Chapter 17

After Jayne left to go get a drink, Kailee sat down on a boulder to rest. Keegan leaned up against a tree.

"So tell me something," Keegan asked. "How did the two of you find out that you were ninja?"

"Well, the others knew from the time we were born, but me and Jaynie didn't find out until a few months ago," Kailee answered. Keegan looked confused.

"If they knew all that time, then how come they didn't tell you?" he wondered.

"When our dad died, Mama was afraid of losing us like she had Daddy so she decided to keep it a secret from us. The other ninja stopped wearing their ninja suits around us. All the pictures of the ninja in their suits were taken down. Even the control room was kept locked. We didn't even know that Daddy had been a ninja," Kailee told him.

"So how'd you two find out?" Keegan asked.

"When we were six years old, Mama moved the three of us in with our grandparents. A few months ago, me and Jaynie snuck up to the attic and found a trunk with some pictures in it of the ninja, along with these necklaces," Kailee explained, picking up her pendant in her hand. "We didn't know what the necklaces were for but they started glowing when we got near them."

"How did they know when you were born that the two of you were ninja?" Keegan wondered.

"Sensei told them," Kailee replied. "And when he held the necklaces close to us, they glowed. That's when he told them about the prophecy."

"Wow," Keegan said. "I wish there was some way of knowing whether I'm a ninja or not."

"Well, you heard what Sensei said," Kailee reminded him. "'Your time will come.'" Her cousin nodded.

"Yeah, but I hate waiting," he told her and she couldn't help but laugh. He narrowed his eyes at her. "What's so funny?"

"You sound just like Uncle Kai," she answered, still giggling.

"Well, he is my dad," Keegan reminded her.

Suddenly, Kailee stopped laughing. Her face became serious as she stared in the direction of the river.

"Kailee? What's wrong?" Keegan asked her, a little bit alarmed by his cousin's behavior.

"It's Jaynie," she told him with urgency in her voice. "She's in trouble. The serpentine are at the river and they have her surrounded.

"What are we waiting for? Lets go!" Keegan said as he hurried in the direction of the river with Kailee right behind him.

As they neared the small clearing, the voices of the serpentine be scams louder. They crouched behind a large bush on the edge of the clearing, watching and waiting for the right moment to react.

Jayne must've done something to make them mad, Kailee thought as she watched the serpentine grab her sister and hold her tightly. Scales glared at her as he spoke.

"You're gonna regret doing that," he threatened. Kailee felt herself growl in anger and Keegan clenched his fists tightly beside her.

"You ready?" Kailee whispered to him, not taking her eyes off the scene in the clearing.

"Yeah, let's do this," he whispered back.

The two of them leaped out from behind the bush, landing just behind Scales.

"Don't you dare threaten my sister!" Kailee yelled at him in anger.

Surprised, he whirled around to face them. A smirk formed on his face when he saw them.

"What do we have here?" the serpentine leader asked. "So the ninja are too chicken to face me themselves so they send their children out fight instead?" He chuckled evilly.

Kailee felt herself heat up as her hazel eyes flamed brightly. Clutching her double daggers in front of her, she spun towards him in a red tornado of spinjitsu, knocking him to the ground.

"Serpentine! Defend your leader!" Scales yelled.

The other serpentine released Jayne and ran towards Kailee. Jayne retrieved her bow and arrow from where they had thrown it when they had jerked it from her hands. She quickly fitted the arrow to the bow and raised them, taking careful aim as she pulled back the string. Once she released it, the arrow sped quickly towards her intended target, embedding itself into the shoulder of one of the constrictai. The serpentine hissed in pain before whirling around to face her.

"You!" he said, shooting his his long black tail towards her, trying to grab hold of her. "Let's see how you like this!"

Jayne tried to avoid it, but the serpentine was too quick. As she jumped out of the way the first one, he lashed sideways and caught her. Wrapping his scaly tail around her body, he began to squeeze her tightly, constricting her ability to move. Jayne desperately struggled to free herself as she felt the air being squeezed from her lungs. The constrictai chuckled.

"It looks like you don't appreciate my little token of affection," he remarked, laughing at his own bad joke.

'Kailee! Help me!" Jayne almost begged her sister through her thoughts. She could feel herself weakening and knew she couldn't hold out much longer.

Kailee was busy fighting off the serpentine that had now surrounded her. Keegan jumped into the circle next to her, brandishing a large stick as his weapon. Kailee threw her daggers at two of the serpentine catching one of them in the shoulder and the other in the arm. Keegan used his stick to knock two of the serpentine out.

But the two that Kailee's daggers had cut were now angry. One of them was a fangpyre. As Kailee put out her hand for her daggers to come back to her, the fangpyre sunk its fangs into her arm. Kailee cried out in pain and used her spinjitsu to knock the serpentine out.

That left only one other serpentine and Scales around them. Keegan again used his stick to trip the serpentine and then knock him out.

Kailee was spinning her spinjitsu when she heard Jayne's plea for help in her thoughts. Loosing her concentration, she tripped over a tree root and fell on the ground.

"Keegan! Where's Jayne?" she yelled to her cousin. Both of them looked around and gasped when they saw her tightly in the grasp of the constrictai's tail. Jayne's eyes were closed in her pale face and she looked as though she was barely, if at all, breathing.

"Jayne!" Kailee screamed as she jumped to her feet and began to run towards constrictai. But Scales grabbed her before she could take a step.

"And where do you think you're going?" he asked her. Kailee struggled to get free.

"Let me go!" she yelled.

"Uh-uh, I don't think so," the serpentine leader replied.

Keegan saw Scales grab Kailee and knew that it was now up to him to save Jayne. He ran at the constrictai, hitting him with his stick. But the serpentine just laughed.

"What do you think I am? A dog?" he asked, laughing.

'What am I supposed to do?' Keegan thought to himself. 'I'm not a ninja and I don't have a weapon.'

All of the sudden, an idea struck him. 'But it didn't work last time,' he reminded himself. He glanced up at the serpentine. He had no other idea about what to do. He knew he had to try it.

Taking a deep breath to try and settle his nerves, he looked deep into the dark eyes of the constrictai. He felt his eyes begin to spin as he stared harder. At first, it seemed to have no effect on the serpentine, but the longer he stared into his eyes, the serpentine's eyes finally began to blink sleepily.

The constrictai shook his head, trying to dispel the urge he felt to sleep, but every time he opened his eyes, they were drawn right back to Keegan's. Slowly, he stopped fighting it. He felt his tail begin to loosen from around Jayne as his body slowly fell to the ground. By the time he hit the ground, he was fast asleep.

Keegan turned to Scales who was still holding onto Kailee, both of them were staring at the sleeping constrictai in amazement.

"Well, Scales, would you like to join him?" Keegan asked. The serpentine leader's eyes opened wide with fright and he released Kailee, fleeing quickly into the woods. They heard the brush rustle as he ran away from them.

"Are you all right?" Keegan asked Kailee. She nodded, still staring at him in surprise at what he just did.

"How did you do that?" she asked him. Keegan shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know," he replied. "I didn't think it would work after what happened the last time I tried to use it. But when I saw Jayne-" he broke off.

"Jayne!" Kailee exclaimed as they both remembered her. They turned and looked over where the sleeping constrictai lay on the ground.

Next to him lay the pale, still form of Jayne.

*Gasp* Oh no! Is Jayne all right? And what about Kailee? She did get bit by a fangpyre. And what do you think of Keegan's power? Tell me what you think in the reviews!

And answer these questions-Which one of the twins is your favorite? Why? If you were writing this story, what would you do differently?


	21. Chapter 20

All right, here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it! Oh, and by the way, I changed the colors of the twins' ninja suits. Kailee's suit is now yellow and Jayne's is now an aqua blue color. I'll try to go back and change that in the previous chapters.

Anyway, enough talking. On with the chapter!

* * *

Chapter 18

Kailee and Keegan rushed over to Jayne's side. Ripping off his gloves, Keegan felt her wrist, looking for her pulse, meanwhile watching for the rise and fall of her chest to indicate that she was breathing.

"Is she all right?" Kailee asked her cousin.

"Her pulse is weak," he told her. "She's breathing. Just barely, though."

Kailee didn't know she had been holding her breath until she released it. She studied her sister's pale face. A few minor cuts and bruises were visible. Kailee removed her gloves and gingerly touched her sister's cheek. She heard Keegan gasp.

"Kailee! What happened to your hand?" he asked, pointing to the hand she had touched Jayne's cheek with. Kailee looked down at her hand and almost screamed.

Instead of the normal tan skin, her hand was now covered with greenish-yellow scales!

"My hand!" she exclaimed, holding it in her other hand as she turned it over and examined it. "What's wrong with it?" Keegan wrapped his fingers around her wrist and pulled her hand closer to him. He moved her fingers gently as he studied them.

"Those serpentine must've done something to you during the fight," he told her. Kailee gasped as she remembered.

"One of them did bite me," she admitted. Keegan nodded.

"I'll bet that's what did it," he said. "Is it just your hand?"

"I hope so," Kailee said as she rolled up her sleeve. The rest of her arm was slowly turning green as scales were beginning to form on it. "I'm turning into a snake! Keegan, what am I going to do?" she asked him, her voice raised in a mixture of anger and panic.

"Calm down, Kailee, I'm sure the others will know how to fix you," he assured her.

"'Calm down!' You're telling me to calm down?" Kailee asked in disbelief, her voice now at a full yell. "First those serpentine hurt my sister and then they turn me into a snake and all you can say is to calm down?" Keegan grabbed her shoulders firmly but gently and looked into her eyes. She tried to shrug his hands from off her shoulders, but he refused to let her. She glared at him, her eyes full of angry flames.

"Kailee, listen to me," he told her. "Panicking isn't going to help the situation any. Jayne is gonna be just fine and so are you. Once we get back to the Bounty, the others will know what to do." Kailee continued to glare at him for a moment before sighing and closing her eyes. Keegan felt the tension in her shoulders begin to melt away as she took a deep breath to settle her nerves. When she opened her eyes, the flames were gone from her hazel eyes and she smiled.

"Thanks," she said. Keegan nodded and left his hands fall away from her shoulders.

A rustle in the grass next to them was heard followed by the weak sound of a voice.

"Kailee?" Jayne asked. Both Kailee and Keegan turned their attention to her. Her eyes were still closed, but the color was beginning to return to her face.

"I'm here, Jaynie," Kailee assured her. Slowly, Jayne's eyelids slid open, revealing her cool blue eyes. She blinked a couple of times as if trying to bring everything into focus.

"What happened?" Jayne asked.

"One of the constrictai grabbed you," Keegan answered.

"Oh, yeah, I remember now," Jayne replied. Using her hands, she pulled herself into a sitting position. She put her hand to her forehead.

"You all right?" Kailee asked.

"Yeah, I just feel a little dizzy," Jayne admitted.

"It's getting late. We should be getting back to the Bounty before they start worrying about us," Keegan told his cousins. The girls looked up as they realized that he was right. The sun was just beginning to set overhead.

"Can you walk?" Kailee asked her sister. Jayne nodded.

"I think so," she replied as she stood to her feet. She wobbled a little and Kailee put her arm around her shoulder to steady her. Jayne caught sight of her sister's scaly hand as Kailee rested it on her shoulder. "What happened to your hand?" She asked.

"I got bit," Kailee told her as they began heading towards the Bounty with Keegan leading the way.

By the time the three of them made it back to the Bounty, the sun was just barely in the sky. Nya was on deck waiting for them as they trudged up the ramp.

"You're late for dinner," Nya told them sternly.

"We're sorry, Aunt Nya," Keegan apologized.

"We would have gotten back in time, Mama, if it hadn't been for the serpentine," Jayne told her. Nya's eyes filled with concern.

"You ran into the serpentine?" Nya asked. They nodded. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, but Kailee's not," Jayne answered.

"What do you mean?" her mother asked.

"She got bit," Jayne replied.

"Kailee, come here," she said and the girl obeyed. Nya gasped in surprise. Kailee's normal tan skin had been replaced by greenish-yellow scales. Her teeth now had fangs and her tongue was forked.

"What am I going to do, Mama?" Kailee hissed, her voice full of fear.

"Don't worry, honey. I have the anti venom in the bridge. We can change you back to normal," Nya assured her. Kailee smiled.

"Let'sssss do it then!" she said. "I'm tired of being a ssssssnake."

"You two can go on up to dinner," Nya told Jayne and Keegan as Kailee followed her into the bridge.

Thirty minutes later, the ninja were all gathered in the dining room. Kailee had been turned back to normal and Zane brought out the leftovers from supper for the three young teens.

"So, Kailee, how'd it feel to be a snake?" Lloyd asked with a chuckle. Kailee shivered and wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Awful," she answered, causing the others to burst into laughter.

"So what happened out there today?" Kai asked.

"Well, we were out exploring and we stopped to rest for awhile. Jayne said she was thirsty and went to the river to get a drink," Keegan began.

"I heard some rustling in the bushes behind me and when I turned around, six of the serpentine had surrounded me. The leader began talking and he stuck his face this far from mine!" Jayne continued, using her hands to demonstrate the distance. "It was gross! I could feel his hot breath on my face."

"What did you do?" Cole asked her.

"Now that I think about it, it probably wasn't the best thing to do, but at the time I didn't think about it," Jayne answered. "I punched him square in the jaw." The other ninja chuckled at her last statement.

"Good girl!" Kai praised his niece.

"I'll bet Scales didn't like that too much," Lloyd remarked. Jayne shook her head.

"No, that's when he had the others capture me and he threatened me," she told them. Turning her eyes to her sister, she continued."That's when I began to hope that Kailee had gotten my message." Kailee nodded.

"Yeah, I was just beginning to wonder what was taking you so long, when I heard your message," she said as she picked up the story. "I told Keegan about Jayne's message and we hurried towards the river. We watched in the bushes for a while until we saw Scales threaten Jayne. That's when we jumped out and the fighting began."

"We did good at first," Keegan said. "The girls used their weapons and I had picked up a big stick earlier that I used for my weapon. Me and Kailee knocked out several of the serpentine."

"After the serpentine released me, I retrieved my bow and arrow and took a shot at the nearest snake, hitting him in the shoulder. He got mad and grabbed at me with his tail. I tried to avoid it, but he was just too fast. Before I knew what happened, he had me wrapped tightly in his tail and was squeezing me so hard I couldn't breathe. I knew I wouldn't be able to hold out much longer, so I sent Kailee a message to help me," Jayne said. She paused for a moment. "I must've passed out. I don't remember anything else after that."

"Once we had taken care of all of the serpentine that were around us except for Scales, I heard Jayne send me another message. I turned around to find her being squeezed by one of the serpentine," Kailee said. "I started to run towards her, but Scales grabbed me before I could get far." Kailee paused and glanced at Keegan. "That's when Keegan used his special power to put the snake to sleep." The other ninja turned their attention to the curly-headed boy.

"What 'special powers'?" Kai asked his son.

"Well, I just used my eyes to hypnotize the snake and he went to sleep," Keegan answered, shrugging his shoulders."There's nothing special about it." Everyone just stared at him.

"Nothing special about it!" Cole exclaimed in surprise. Lloyd snorted.

"Yeah, it's not like it's something anybody can do," he agreed.

"How long have you been able to do that for?" Nya asked.

"When I was little, I began to notice that I was able to do stuff with my eyes that allowed me to control things," Keegan told them. "It seems to work best on animals, though. It doesn't work on people most of the time."

"Is that why you stood and stared at that bear?" Zane asked him. Keegan nodded.

"Yes sir, but the bear was too sick to pay attention to me," he said.

"Son, do you realize what this means?" Kai asked. Keegan shook his head, a look of confusion on his face. "You're a ninja!"

Keegan stared at his father in shock. "You mean it?" he asked. Kai smiled as he nodded. Keegan looked around the table, a smile growing on his face. "I'm a ninja!" he exclaimed in excitement. The others laughed.

Sensei had slipped from the room, unnoticed, sometime during the previous conversation. He had returned just then, having overheard Keegan's last statement.

"Yes, Keegan, you are a ninja," Sensei told him. The older man sat down in his chair, setting a flat box on top of the table. He slid the box down the table to Keegan, who stared at it in wonder.

"What's this?" the boy asked.

"Your new uniform," Sensei replied. Keegan's eyes opened wide in surprise.

"A real ninja suit?" he asked, opening the box. He pulled out an orange suit, with a pair if black gloves.

"Of course it is!" Lloyd answered.

"You can't be a ninja without a ninja suit," Cole told him. Keegan chuckled at himself.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he agreed.

"Why don't you put it on?" Kailee suggested.

"Sure!" her cousin said, jumping up from the table and rushing from the room, leaving the others laughing at his haste.

* * *

Deep in the darkest caverns under the earth, a young girl was expertly countering her serpentine opponents' attacks. Her mother watched, a pleased expression on her face. Although it had taken her daughter a little longer to learn everything she needed to learn about martial arts, the girl's training had finally reached its peak. There was nothing more that she could teach her. Her mother chuckled softly. Her daughter was now ready for her first assignment, the only reason she had put so much time and effort into her training.

"Mistress Lilith, what do you plan to do now that the transssformation isss complete?" a voice asked, startling her from her thoughts. She turned and saw one of her serpentine servants at her side.

"I have an idea that will work," she replied, turning her attention back to watching her daughter. The serpentine bowed in submission before backing away from her.

Within a few minutes, the young teenager had defeated all of the serpentine opponents. She moved to stand before her mother, waiting for her words of approval. The girl's long black hair had worked itself loose from its ponytail during the previous fight and now tumbled down her back in a cascade of curls and waves. She pushed her long bangs out of her face, tucking them behind her ear before resting her hand on her hip. Her cool gray eyes matched her nonchalant disposition perfectly.

"Perfect. Absolutely perfect," Lilith told her daughter, an evil grin appearing on her face. Her eyes narrowed as she thought about her plan. It was foolproof, and Adrianna was the perfect person for the job. It was time to tell her.

"Now that you've finished your training, I have an important mission for you," Lilith began. "It is time that I told you the reason for all your training." She paused for a moment. "I want you to do what I cannot. To rise to a new level of supremeness, to be the best." When the girl continued to look puzzled, Lilith explained. "I want you to go to Ninjago and find the ninja. These ninja have convinced everyone that they are Heroes, but I know the truth. They are evil people who only want to rule all of Ninjago. I want you to befriend them and find out what is the best way to defeat them. Their weaknesses. But whatever you do, don't let them know who you are or what you are doing. Can I trust you to complete this task?" she looked deep into her daughter's eyes.

"Mother, have I ever let you down before?" the girl asked, her voice full of annoyance at being asked that question.

"It will not be an easy task," her mother warned her. "These ninja are very devious. They have managed to elude all of my attempts to discover their latest hiding place. You will have to figure out where they are and then relay that information back to me."

"That doesn't sound too hard," Adrianna assured her. Lilith smiled her evil smile.

"Good," she said. "Good. Now, go get some rest. You'll need to get an early start tomorrow."

Once inside her room, the girl leaned against the locked door, breathing heavily. Though she wouldn't admit it, she was a little nervous about this mission. She knew about the ninja. Even though she hadn't said it, she knew that her mother would send her on a mission like this.

That was the only reason her mother had spent so much time training her. She trained her in more than just fighting. She had worked hard to instill her hatred in her daughter's heart. Lilith hated anything good and pure. At first, the girl had resisted all of her mother's attempts. This had angered her mother.

Adrianna squeezed her eyes right as she remembered her mother's angry reaction. That was when she had learned the hard way to NEVER anger her mother.

Slowly, she made her way over to sit on her bed. Reaching underneath her shirt, the girl pulled out a tiny, silver, heart-shaped locket with a tiny silver bow above it. Elegantly engraved on the front was a capital A. The A had not been intended to stand for Adrianna, though. When it had been engraved on the locket, her name had been different. SHE had been different.

Opening the locket, she stared down at the smiling faces that stared back at her. She remembered the day that those pictures had been taken. She had been so happy back then. But that was before the tragedy had happened, destroying her once happy childhood. Even though she had been young, she still remembered it like it was yesterday.

Standing to her feet, she walked over to stand in front of the mirror. She studied the face of the girl that stared back at her. It was very similar to that of the little girl in the locket. But, at the same time, it was very different.

The face in the mirror was a little older than the one in the locket. True, that was because the girl was older, but it wasn't just the difference in age that made them different. The girl in the locket was happy. She loved her family and they loved her. She was good and kind. An angel, some people called her.

The girl reflected in the mirror was hard and cold. Years of hurt and pain and turned into bitterness and hatred, consuming every fiber of her being until there was nothing good left in her. No longer was she happy. Her eyes were dull and sad; her face emotionless.

Quickly, she snapped the locket shut and dropped back beneath her shirt, shoving the memories away with it. She wiped the unshed tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. She couldn't allow herself to cry. Crying was a sign of weakness. That, her mother had taught her well.

Making her way back to the bed, she stretched herself out on it. Her mother had advised her to rest and she decided to listen to her advice. She soon discovered that she was more tired than she'd thought. Sleep overcame her and she didn't fight it.

* * *

So? What do you think? How do you like Adrianna? What do you think her name used to be? (I'll give you a hint, I mentioned her in one of my previous chapters by her other name!) And what do you think the tragedy is that happened to her? Tell me in the reviews!

Also, I REALLY need some suggestions for Keegan's and Adrianna's weapons. And, should I make theirs and the twins' weapons be able to change into vehicles? If so, what should they be?

Thanks again to everyone who has been reviewing and to those who have been reading this even though they haven't reviewed! ;-) You guys are awesome!


	22. Chapter 21

Here's my next chapter! Sorry it took me a little longer to type this one, but there was so much I needed to include in this chapter. Which means that this chapter is a lot longer than the last couple were! See, your patience pays off!

Anyway, enough babbling! On to the story! ;-)

Chapter 19

-A month later-

A young girl stood in the shadows of a small building, carefully studying the people that passed in front of it. The majority of them passed quickly by, paying her no attention. She sighed in disappointment. It had been one month exactly since her mother had sent her out on the mission to find the ninja and she was no closer to finding out where they were than she had been when she started. Searching town after town, village after village, everyone and then she would pick up a clue to their hideout. But by the time she'd get their, they had all ready moved to another spot.

It didn't make any sense! How could seven ninja and a samurai just vanish on a flying ship. For that matter, how could they hide a boat that big? She sighed again in frustration. Why were they moving around anyway? She didn't think it was because they had heard that she was looking for them. She hadn't told anyone about her mission.

Walking to the front of the building, she discovered that it was a store. It was beginning to get dark. Standing in front of the store, she surveyed the tiny village, hoping to find some kind of inn or guesthouse. She wasn't exactly sure of the name of the village she was currently in. Disappointed at seeing no place that she could get a room at, she entered the store. The sales clerk was behind the counter.

"May I help you with something?" he asked smiling.

"I hope so," Adrianna replied. "Is there anyplace around here where I can rent a room for the night?"

"I'n afraid the only rooming house around here only has two rooms and I think both of them are taken," the clerk told her.

"Oh, well, thanks anyway," she said as she turned to leave.

Once again outside the store, the young teenage girl looked around for a place to sleep. Though she would rather sleep indoors in a nice soft bed, she didn't mind sleeping outside. She had gotten used to it during the past month. Her mother hadn't given her much money and that had run out after about the first week and a half. As she moved from village to village, she had been able to fulfill a few minor tasks for people who had rewarded her with money.

She passed a house and the aroma of freshly baked bread filled her nose. Pausing on the street, she hungrily breathed in delicious smell. Quickly, she walked to the door of the house and knocked. After a few seconds, a lady answered the door.

"Yes?" she asked when she saw Adrianna.

"Please ma'am, could I buy some of that bread you just made? It smells so delicious," Adrianna said. The lady seemed to scan the girl over with her eyes before replying.

"How much would you be willing to pay?" the woman wondered. Adrianna reached into her pocket, removing her last few coins and holding them out to the woman.

"Alright, I guess I'll let you have some," she said. "Wait here." She took Adrianna's coins and closed the door. A few seconds later, she returned with a loaf of warm bread. Adrianna's mouth watered just looking at it.

"Thank you, ma'am!" she said enthusiastically.

Hurrying down the street to the little alley she had seen earlier, she began to tear small pieces off of the loaf, savoring each bite in delight. In the alley, she found several stacks of empty wooden crates. Taking a seat on one of them, she finished off her bread, trying to make it last as long as possible.

By the time the last of the sun's rays had completely disappeared from the sky, Adrianna had set the crates side by side and made a bed on top of them out of her tattered thread-bare blanket.

As she lay there, shivering in the chilly night air, the young teenager was reminded of a similar night several years before.

A seven year old girl stumbled through the damp, dirty streets. The chilly evening air whipped around the buildings, threatening to run through anyone who dared to be out on the streets. A light drizzle of rain fell onto the hard packed dirt roads, turning them into mud and dotting them with puddles of various shapes and sizes. The fading light created shadows that, to the little girl, seemed very frightening.

She sat huddled behind a stack of empty wooden crates in a corner of a dark alley. Each time one of the shadows moved menacingly, she cringed in fear. She was more than afraid. She was terrified. Terrified about what was out there in the night that might find her. Terrified of being alone.

That was what she was. Alone. Whimpering quietly, as scenes from the day's earlier events flooded back into her memory.

That morning had started out so perfect. She had awoken that morning to the promise that her father was taking her to the park. The two of them had spent the day together, laughing and playing in the sunshine. As they spread out the picnic lunch on top of the checkered blanket, she told her father that it was the best day of her life. Her father had smiled back at her, kissing her on the forehead. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box.

"I got you something special," he said handing her the box. She opened the lid and gasped in surprise and delight.

Inside the box was a locket with an A engraved on it.

"Oh, Daddy! It's beautiful!" she exclaimed.

"Open it," her father told her. She did and saw that inside the locket was two pictures of her father and her together.

"Thank you, Daddy," she said with a smile. "I'm never gonna take it off."

He smiled at her, kissing her cheek as she leaned in to give him a hug.

Suddenly, the sky grew dark. Thunder rumbled so loudly that it seemed to shake the ground. Lightning split the sky, giving off a quick, bright glow that landed on the woman standing in front of them. She had seemed to come from nowhere.

The girl scooted closer to her father in fear, and he wrapped his arms around her protectively. His eyes were wide in surprise as he stared at the woman.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" she asked, a haughty tone to her voice. "Father and daughter spending time together. How sweet!"

"Lilith! What are you doing here?" the girl's father asked, his voice mixed with fear and anger.

"I've come back for the two of you," Lilith told him. The girl's father stood to his feet, his daughter still clinging to him.

"No! I told you that when you left the first time and my answer still hasn't changed," he said firmly. "It was your decision to run off and leave us. You made the choice to become evil. Don't expect us to go with you, though."

Lilith threw her head back and laughed evilly. When she looked at her husband, there was an evil gleam in her eyes.

"You think you can stop me?" she asked him. "I knew you wouldn't come on your own so I brought some help." At that last statement, a small army of serpentine came forward, waiting for her command.

Her husband's eyes blazed bright with anger. He knew what she said was true. Although he had missed her dearly during the past six years, he had known when she ran off, that she was turning evil. She had tried to get him to follow her, but he'd refused. She even tried to take their year old daughter with her. He had known that she would one day return and when she did, she would be stronger.

Turning to his daughter, he bent down so he could look her into her bright gray eyes.

"Ayana, honey, when I tell you, I want you to take off running as fast as you can away from here and I don't want you to stop or look back," he whispered to her. "Can you do that for me?" She nodded, her eyes filled with fear.

"What's going on, Daddy?" she asked. He hugged her tightly to him, trying to force away the tears that were beginning to form in his eyes.

"Don't worry, baby. Everything's going to be fine," he told her softly as he kissed her forehead. "No matter what happens, I want you to remember that I love you." Tears were filling her eyes as she hugged him.

"I love you too, Daddy," she whispered back to him.

Giving her one last squeeze, he stood to his feet and he faced his wife.

"If you're planning on us going with you, you're gonna have a fight on your hands," he told her. She smiled evilly, snapping her fingers at the serpentine standing behind her.

In an instant, the small army had surrounded him. He fought them off, keeping their attention as he met his daughter's eyes and nodded to tell her to run.

And run she did. Once she was safely out of the serpentines' reach, she peeked around the corner of the building she was currently hiding behind. She watched in terror as her father was quickly subdued by the serpentine.

"You still think you're not coming with me?" Lilith asked her husband menacingly.

"Even if you take me with you, it still won't change my decision," he told her firmly. Lilith glared at him, fire in her eyes. Turning to the serpentine she commanded, "Bring out the gun!"

The girl's eyes widened in horror as Lilith raised the gun up to her shoulder, aimed, fired it directly at her father. Tears began streaming from her eyes as she forced herself to swallow the scream that she had almost allowed to escape. Her father crumbled to the ground as the dart hit him in the chest.

"Pick him up and take him back with you," Lilith ordered her serpentine servants.

"But, Your Highness, what about the girl?" one of the serpentine asked.

"Just take him and leave," Lilith said. "Leave the girl to me."

When Ayana had heard Lilith's last statement, she turned and ran as fast as she could. She had continued running until she was out of breath and was unable run another step. By then it was dark. She had no idea where she was. That was when she had found the alley and huddled behind the crates.

She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there when she heard footsteps coming down the alley towards her hiding place. Her body stiffened in fear as the person drew closer. When they leaned over the top of the stack of crates to look at her, the girl almost screamed. Lilith.

"It's all right, honey," she told the girl softly. A tender smile was on her face as she reached out her hand towards her daughter, who pressed herself against the wall in an effort to get as far away from the woman as possible.

"Don't be afraid, Adrianna. I won't hurt you," her mother said.

"My name is Ayana," the girl corrected her hesitantly. "And you killed my father."

"Oh, honey, don't you see what he was doing to you?" Lilith asked. The girl blinked blankly. "He was trying to turn you against everything that is important. He was turning you against me."

"Who are you?" the girl asked a fearful quiver in her voice.

"I am your mother," Lilith told her. Her daughter's eyes opened wide in surprise. "I know, you're probably wondering where I've been all these years, right?" The girl nodded. "When you were just a baby, your father came home one day and drove me out of the house, refusing to allow me to take you with me. I was determined that I would one day get you back no matter what it took. " Lilith looked deep into the seven year old's eyes. "That's why I had to do what I did to your father. Believe me, I didn't want to, but if I hadn't, there was no way he would've let me near you." She paused for a moment to allow her words to sink in before continuing.

"Honey, I really do love you and I want you to come with me," Lilith told the girl. "Will you come?"

Ayana studied the woman who was claiming to be her mother. She seemed really nice and she said she loved her. And she WAS her mother. But there was something inside of her that was telling her not to go with Lilith.

"Why did you call me Adrianna?" she wondered.

"That was the name that I had wanted to call you when you were born but your father wouldn't let me," her mother answered. "So he called you Ayana."

Her mother looked so miserable and lonely. Maybe she was telling the truth. Maybe her father really had done all of that.

No, he couldn't have. That just didn't sound like something he'd do. But she didn't remember what he'd been like when her mother had been there. Maybe he had changed after she had left.

She wants me to go with her. What should I say? Should I say yes? If I don't, who will I stay with? Who will take care of me? The only family I knew was my father and now he's gone. Ayana have her mother a surveying glance. She didn't so bad. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to go with at least for the night. It would be better than trying to sleep in the damp alley she was currently in.

"I'll go with you," she said decidedly. Her mother's smile lit up her face.

"I'm so glad! Oh, Adrianna, you don't know how happy you've made me," Lilith exclaimed, wrapping her arms tightly around her daughter in a hug. 'Perfect! She's playing right into my plan just as I thought she would,' Lilith thought deviously. 'All I have to do is get her back to my headquarters without her finding out the truth. Then when she learns the truth, she'll have no choice but to stay and go along with my plan.'

Adrianna lay on her makeshift bed of crates, trying her hardest to force the painful memories back into the depths of her memory bank. She clutched her locket tightly in her hand, her only remaining possession to remind her of how much her father loved her. Everything her mother had told the seven year old girl that dreary night had been a lie. In fact, almost everything she had been telling her daughter over the past six years had been a lie. Her mother didn't care about her. The only thing she cared about was herself. There had only been one person who had really cared about her. That had been her father. But now he was dead and she was all alone.

-The next day-

Aboard the Bounty, the twins were in the middle if yet another training session. The two of them stood back to back, studying the five ninja who surrounded them. Kailee tightly gripped her double daggers in her hands, ready to throw. Jayne held her golden bow and arrow poised in her hands, which was also ready to shoot. Their ninja uniforms gleamed in the rays of the sunlight that streamed onto the deck of the ship. Both girls were ready when the ninja decided to attack. Expertly, the twins countered their moves. It wasn't long before the two of them had defeated the other five.

When Sensei entered the room, he chuckled softly at what he saw. The girls were standing in the center of the room, carefully watching the other five ninja, who were scattered around the room. Kai had been pined to the wall by one of Kailee's arrows. Zane lay propped against the wall, where he'd landed when Jayne had countered his attack. Keegan and Cole were just getting to their feet and Lloyd was pulling an arrow out of his shoulder padding.

"That was pretty good, girls," Cole praised them.

"Next time, just try to watch where you're shooting them arrows," Kai told Jayne. "I don't like getting pinned by a stray arrow." Jayne giggled.

"Oh, that wasn't a stray arrow," she told Kai. "I knew exactly where it was going to go when I shot it." Kai glared at her as the others laughed, but Jayne saw the twinkle in his eyes and knew that no matter how much he pretended, he wasn't really mad.

"Yes, they are good when they fight together," Sensei spoke up, putting an end to the laughter. "But what if they were fighting against each other?" Everyone stared at him.

"But, Sensei, we always fight together," Kailee protested.

"Besides, the prophecy states that together, we will defeat the evil," Jayne reminded him.

"Yes, but who knows what can happen between now and then?" Sensei stated. "It will be a long, hard journey leading up to the defeat and you both must be prepared for anything." Taking a seat on a nearby chair, he motioned for them to begin.

The other five ninja moved to stand on the sidelines as the two girls turned to face each other, displeasure evident on their faces. They circled for a moment, eyes narrowed, studying the other. Then, Kailee attacked. Jayne was ready though, and caught her punch with one of her own. They continued to battle for a few minutes, both of them holding back. Neither one of them were giving all they had. Sensei knew this.

"You're both holding back," he told them as they stopped to face him. "How can you expect to train each other when you won't give all you've got?"

"But we don't want to hurt each other," Jayne said.

"That's what the armor is for," Sensei replied. "Now, Again!"

Nya had been watching when she heard Sensei tell the twins to fight each other. She had been surprised. In the few months that they had been training, neither girl had ever fought against the other during training sessions. Nya carefully watched Sensei as he instructed Her daughters. Had he learned something important from the spirit smoke? Was that why he was making them fight each other? Nya wasn't sure, but she planned to find out.

When the training session was finally completed to Sensei and the ninjas' satisfaction, both girls heaved a sigh of relief. They both enjoyed battling against the other ninja, but each other? No. There was something in the way that Sensei made them do it that made them suspicious. Would they have to fight against each other one day?

Jayne hoped not. She loved her sister and couldn't bear the thought of fighting against her. They had always fought together. That was when they were strongest. She sighed as she removed her armor and placed it in the cabinet.

Kailee, who was standing behind her, heard her sister sigh. She knew what Jayne was thinking, because the exact same thoughts were scrolling through her own mind. She placed a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder.

"Don't worry, that will never happen to us," she assured Jayne, who gave her a small smile.

"You're probably right," Jayne agreed, though the tone of her voice said differently.

"Hey, remember our saying?" Kailee asked her. Jayne nodded as Kailee began their special phrase.

"Divided," she said and Jayne joined her on, "never."

Kailee raised her left hand up, palm facing her sister as she started. Jayne touched her right hand to Kailee's and entwined their fingers.

"Together," Jayne said and was joined by Kailee on, "forever."

Kailee's warm hazel-brown eyes met Jayne's cool icy-blue ones. The two shared a special smile. They had a special bond between. It was something that went beyond the fact that they were twins. They weren't just 'any' twins; they were the 'elemental' twins. They could read each others thoughts and communicate with each other silently through their minds. They could feel whenever something bad happened to each other and always knew exactly how to help the other one. Whenever Kailee's flaming temper got the best of her, she could look into the coolness of Jayne's eyes and would feel herself cooling down. Likewise, whenever Jayne was afraid or unsure of something, the strength and sureness in Kailee's eyes would give her the confidence she needed. None of the others understood exactly how their bond worked, but they knew it existed.

"Girls?" Nya called from the kitchen, startling both girls from their their thoughts.

"Race you," Kailee dared as she broke away from Jayne and began running down up the stairs towards the kitchen.

"Oh no you don't!" Jayne yelled after her as she followed her sister. Needless to say, Kailee was the first one there.

"I beat you!" she bragged.

"No you didn't! You cheated!" Jayne countered. She glared at her sister, who stuck her tongue out at her. Jayne's glare melted and she began to laugh, with Kailee soon joining in.

Nya watched her daughters with a smile. The two of them, along with Keegan, brought excitement to everyone's lives on the Bounty.

"Whenever you're both finished, I have an errand I need you to run," Nya spoke loudly to be heard over their laughter. Quickly, the girls sobered. "We are running a little low on groceries so I need you to go to the store and pick up a few." She pulled a list and an envelope from her pocket. "Here's the list and here's the money. That should be enough to pay for it," she said as she handed them both to Kailee.

"Yes ma'am," both girls replied.

"Don't be too long now," Nya told them. "I need some of those items for supper tonight." The twins nodded.

"Yes ma'am," they said.

"Don't worry, Mom," Kailee told her mother. "We'll be back before you can say 'serpentine!'" And with that, both girls ran from the room and out onto the deck.

"Umph!" Keegan groaned as his excited cousins barreled into him and three landed on the wooden deck.

"Sorry, Keegan," Jayne apologized, giggling.

"Its all right," he assured them, as they got to their feet. "What's the hurry anyway?"

"Mom wants us to get some groceries from town," Kailee told him. "You wanna come?"

"Sure! Somebody's gotta keep the two if you outta trouble," Keegan teased. Kailee put her hands on her hips and glared at her cousin. Though Keegan was a year older than his cousins, he was the same height as they were.

"Who do you think you are, saying that you're 'gonna keep us outta trouble'?" she asked.

"Well, number one, I'm older than both of you. Number two, I'm a boy. And number three, I know those streets like the back of my hand," Keegan stated, crossing his arms across his chest and returning Kailee's glare. Jayne stood off to the side watching her sister and her cousin's argument. Because of the fact that both of them were stubborn, she knew that this could go on for awhile. Both Kailee and Keegan seemed to enjoy arguing with each other. The funny thing was that neither of them stayed angry at the other one very long.

"Yeah, so what? You may be older, but you're not any bigger or stronger than either of us. And just because you're a boy doesn't mean anything either," Kailee retorted, her voice rising.

"You forgot the last point," Keegan reminded her, keeping his voice at its normal level.

"What are you talking about?" Kailee asked.

"The last point I stated," Keegan repeated. "That I know those streets like the back of my hand." Kailee stared at him for a few seconds. She was desperately trying to think up a quick retort, but wasn't having much success.

"Still, we are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves," she finally told him.

Nya peeked her head around the doorway.

"At the rate you're going, it's gonna be supper time before you leave the Bounty," she reminded the girls.

"Come on, Kailee, we'd better go," Jayne said. Kailee sighed and dropped her arms as she turned towards her sister.

"I'm coming," she told her, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Are you still coming, Keegan?" Jayne asked. Keegan took a quick look at Kailee before responding. Though she pretended like she was angry at him, he knew it was just her way.

"Yeah, I'll come," he replied, falling step behind his cousins as the three of them left the Bounty.

While the children were in town getting supplies for supper, Nya decided to do some much needed dusting. Heading into the guys' room first, she began to dust the bookshelves that lined two of the walls. She studied each of the picture frames and knickknacks as she lifted them in turn to dust underneath. There was a framed photo of the original four ninja and Lloyd before he had aged, as well as a recent one of all seven current ninja, Sensei, and Nya. Her smile disappeared as she remembered that one of the ninja were missing from the second photo. She turned her gaze back to the first photo, the one that included Jay. He was wearing his usual goofy grin as he held two fingers up behind Kai's head. Kai had been so mad at him when he'd seen the photo. Nya laughed at the memory.

Jay had been gone for almost fourteen years, but no matter how long he had been gone, Nya still missed him as much as if the accident had happened the day before. She squeezed her eyes closed tightly as she tried to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. Taking a deep, shaky breath, Nya opened her eyes had realized that she was still tightly clutching the picture frame in her hands.

As she placed the frame back on the shelf, the back of it came off, causing the entire thing to fall down. Nya picked it up and began to put the back on the frame when something caught her eyes. There was something else in the frame besides the ninjas' picture. Carefully, she pulled it out of the frame, her face taking on a puzzled look as she studied the people in the picture.

It was a photo of a young man and woman. The young man was sitting in a chair with the young woman sitting on his lap, his arms wrapped around her waist. In the woman's arms was a baby that was wrapped in a pink blanket. The young man looked so happy; the smile on his face almost splitting it in two. The young woman also wore a smile, though hers looked more like it was forced. Something about wasn't right. There was something in her face that gave Nya the chills as she studied the photo.

"What are you doing, Nya?" Cole asked as he entered the room. Startled, Nya whirled around to face him, trying to hide the photo in her hand.

"Nothing," she replied nervously. "Just dusting."

"What's that in your hand?" he wondered.

"Oh, it's nothing," Nya told him, trying to put the photo back in the frame. "This frame fell over while I was dusting and the picture fell out of it."

Cole stepped closer to her, inhaling sharply when he saw the frame she was talking about.

"You didn't find anything else in that frame, did you?" he asked her. Nya studied him.

"There was another picture behind this one," Nya said. Cole sighed and took the frame from her. He removed the back and pulled out the hidden photo. "Did you know that was back there?" Nya asked him. Cole nodded.

"I was the one who put it there," he told her as he sat down heavily on the bottom bunk of the nearest bunk bed. Nya sat down on the chair across from him.

"Who are they?" she asked him. He didn't respond right away, but when he did Nya was shocked at his answer.

Who do you think the people in the photo are? What about Adrianna? Do you think she sees the twins and Keegan in town? Tell me what you think in the reviews!

Also tell me which one of my characters you are the most like and why? ;-)


	23. Chapter 22

Ok, sorry about the long wait but I was trying to decide which direction to take this story next. I'd like to give a special shout out to x Shadow Frost x for correctly guessing the answer to my last question! (See what happens if you guess the correct answers to my questions? You get a shout out!)

Anyway, I'm planning on starting a new 'story', hopefully within the next few days. I'm hoping that it will help me earn a few more readers and also boost my reviews! ;-) Not sure what I'm gonna call it yet, but be sure to be on the lookout for it! It's gonna be sorta like a radio talk show kinda thing where my host/hosts answer questions and give advice. Have any ideas where the questions will come from? You Guys! ;-)

So please, in your reviews this time, post a 'letter' with questions in your reviews and I will pick the best two or three for the first chapter! I also need to know who you would like to see host the show. I thought about maybe doing Kailee and Jayne, but tell me what you think! It could be any of the characters from my story or the original ninjago episodes.

Ok, thanks for reading that. And now, without further ado, chapter 20! ;-)

Chapter 20

Cole took a deep breath before he spoke.

"This is my sister and her husband," he said quietly, looking down at the picture he was holding. "The picture was taken just a few weeks after their daughter was born."

Nya didn't know what to say. To tell the truth, she was in shock. She had no idea that Cole had a sister. He had never mentioned her before. Why had he kept her a secret? Did the other ninja know? They never kept secrets from each other. It was like an unspoken rule. They were a family, though not related by blood. Still, Nya couldn't help but think that there had to be a reason for his not mentioning her.

"I didn't know you had a sister," Nya told him. "Why didn't you mention her before?"

Cole continued to stare down at the picture; the expression on his face was thoughtful, as if he hadn't heard her question. Nya didn't press him. She sat quietly, waiting for him to speak. When he finally did speak, he still didn't look at her, but Nya thought she could hear a hint of regret and maybe even tears in his voice.

"Lily and I used to be really close when I was younger," Cole told her. "She was eight years older than me, so she always liked playing the 'big sister' game." He chuckled softly at the memory. "Whenever I had a problem and was afraid to tell my parents, I could always go to her." He sighed sadly as he continued. "She ran away from home when she was eighteen. Apparently she and my parents had had a disagreement which resulted in her getting angry and leaving. After she had left, she refused to have anything to do with any of us. I tried writing her letters when I found out where she was, but most of them were returned unopened. I even begged my parents to take me to see her, but they were still angry with her for leaving. By the time I was able to go see her on my own, she had left and no one knew where she had gone." Cole paused for a moment and sniffled, wiping his face with the back of his hand.

"It was years before I heard from her. Then, one day, I got a letter from a man who turned out to be her husband. He wrote asking me to come visit," Cole continued. "My sister tried not to show it, but I could tell she was angry with both her husband and me, though I wasn't sure why. While I was visiting, my niece was born. That was when I realized that something was wrong with my sister. Lily seemed to have almost no interest in her daughter or her husband. Or anything else for that matter. Her temper was worse than I'd ever seen it. Anything could cause her to get angry, and her anger spells would last longer as time went on." He sighed, his eyes still on the picture in front of him. "Her husband told me that she had started distancing herself about six months before. She would go off by herself for days at a time, without telling anyone where she was going or why. When he would ask her where she'd been, she would get mad and refuse to tell him." Cole looked up at Nya, his eyes red from crying.

"A month after I left, I got another letter from her husband saying that my sister had been gone for almost three weeks and he was beginning to wonder if she hadn't left him for good." He sighed and dropped his eyes back down to the photograph. "When I tried to write him back, my letter was returned and someone had written a note on the back saying that they had moved. I haven't heard from any of them since."

Nya was silent, as her mind tried to process exactly what Cole had just told her. The hurt in his voice told her that he really cared about his sister. But instead of reciprocating his love, she had disappeared and not only broken his heart, but the heart of her husband as well. Not to mention the infant daughter she had abandoned. It had been almost thirteen years since this had taken place.

Nya couldn't imagine how she would feel if she were in Cole's position. She and Kai had always been close. He had always been there for her whenever she had needed him, even many times when she hadn't. She wished that there was something she could do to comfort Cole.

"I'm sorry," Nya softly apologized.

"It's not your fault," he said. "I should have told you and the others. I guess it was just easier to try and forget the pain than to try and face it." Nya rested a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Is there anything I can do?" she asked. Cole shook his head.

"No, I just want to be alone," he told her. Nya nodded as she stood to her feet and left the room, closing the door gently behind her.

Meanwhile, Keegan, Kailee, and Jayne had made their way into town. Along the way they had alternated between playing freeze tag and Simon says.

"Simon says to hop on one foot for ten steps," Kailee told her sister and her cousin. They groaned.

"But Kailee," Jayne started to complain but her sister interrupted her with a haughty shake of her finger.

"Nah-ah, you must not question what Simon says," Kailee said.

"That's not fair for you to make us do that and you not," Keegan protested.

"Oh, but it is," Kailee replied. "I am Simon you must do what Simon says." She giggled lightly at her previous statement. Keegan glanced at Jayne with a look of dread mirrored in both their eyes.

"Well, come on, Jaynie, we might as well get this over with," he told her as he lifted his left foot and held it securely against him with his left hand. Jayne sighed, shooting a cold glare at her sister, and followed him. She lost her balance and fell once while Keegan fell twice.

Once they had both hopped their ten steps, they stopped and faced Kailee, waiting apprehensively for her next 'Simon Says' command.

"Ok, now what?" Keegan asked her.

"Hmm, let me think," was Kailee's response.

"Im tired of Simon says," Jayne announced. "Let's play tag."

"Yeah!" Keegan agreed enthusiastically. "Jayne, you be it."

"Wait, wait, wait," Kailee told both of them. "Simon didn't say it so you can't do it." The two of them groaned. Kailee pretended to think for a minute. "Ok, Simon says to play tag. You're it, Jaynie!" With that, Kailee took off running.

Keegan and Jayne exchanged amused glances. They should've not been surprised by Kailee's last statements. She liked to be the center of attention, not to mention the boss.

"You gonna start running, or an I going to have to tag you now?" Jayne asked Keegan. He smiled and took off in the direction that Kailee had gone.

Jayne watched him run and waited, counting to ten as they had earlier determined as part of the rules, before chasing after them, yelling, "Ready or not here I come!"

By the time they reached the small village, each of the young teenagers had had a chance to be 'it' at least twice. They raced into the center of the village, sliding a halt in front of the store.

"I beat you!" Keegan exclaimed as they walked, panting, inside the store.

"No you didn't!" Kailee protested loudly. "You tried to trip me!"

"I did not!" Keegan told his cousin. "You're just mad cause you lost."

"I am not! And I did not lose!" Kailee insisted, glaring fiercely at him. Keegan glared back just as fiercely.

Jayne sighed and rolled her eyes, by now very familiar with this routine. She knew that both her sister and her cousin had inherited their stubbornness and fiery tempers from Kai. That was one thing she was glad she had not inherited. Kailee and Keegan stood there glaring flames at each other with their arms crossed. After about a minute, Jayne decided it was time for her to distract them away from their argument if any of them where to get the shopping done.

"Neither one of you won," she told them firmly. Kailee's and Keegan's eyes slid towards her, each waiting for her continue. "Keegan, you tried to trip Kailee and, Kailee, you was too busy trying to get him back for trying to trip you that neither one of you noticed that I was in front of both of you." Jayne' icy blue eyes stared at each of them in turn, watching as a sheepish look appeared on their faces. They glanced back at each other, as if offering each other an apology. Jayne smiled. Even though fighting with each other seemed to be a favorite pastime of her sister and cousin, neither one of them were able to stay mad long.

A deep chuckle behind them made them remember where they were.

"You kids need some help with something?" the store clerk asked, a smile still on his stout face. Kailee

pulled Nya's shopping list out of her pocket.

"Yes, sir, " she answered the clerk as she handed him the list. He took it from her and glanced over it quickly.

"I'll be just a minute," he told them as he went to gather the things that were on the list.

Within a few minutes, he was back, carrying a medium sized box.

"Well, here you are," he announced as he set the box on the counter. "I don't recall seeing you three around here before."

"No, sir, we're just passing through," Keegan said as he lifted the box from the counter. He thought it was kind of funny that the clerk had not realized they were ninja, after all, the three of them were wearing their ninja suits.

Kailee handed the clerk the money and the three of them left the store.

"You wanna race back to the Bounty?" Kailee asked daringly, glancing at Keegan out of the corner of her eye. He snorted.

"Oh, yeah, sure, and how am I supposed to run with this box in my arms?" he replied.

"With your legs, same way you always do," Kailee remarked with a sly grin. Keegan rolled his eyes as Jayne giggled.

"Thanks, I didn't know that," he told her sarcastically.

They were almost out of the village. The three of them were walking side by side, Kailee on the farthest side, Jayne in the middle, and Keegan closet to the alley. Right as they passed the entrance to an alley, a young teenage girl came rushing out of the alley, running straight into Keegan. The box of groceries flew out of his arms as both of them fell onto the ground.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" the girl exclaimed as she pushed herself up onto her knees and looked down at Keegan apologetically. Keegan glanced up at her as he started to get to his feet. But his glance quickly turned into a stare as he noticed the beautiful raven black cascade of curls that looked as if it was glowing over her shoulder. Her clear gray eyes sparkled in the late afternoon sunlight.

'She's beautiful!' Keegan thought to himself as he continued to gaze at her without realizing it. She smiled seductively, batting her long eyelashes and flipping her curls over her shoulder flirtatiously.

"Keegan, are you all right?" Jayne asked him, a hint of worry in her voice.

Only then did he realize he was staring and tore his eyes away from her.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm ok," he assured her as he stood to his feet and quickly brushed himself off. His cousins studied him incredulously, before stooping to gather the groceries that had been strewn around them.

"Oh, here, let me help you," the girl said as she bent and began helping the twins gathering the groceries. "After all, it is my fault that this happened."

The rest of the groceries were gathered quickly, with Keegan casting sly glances at the new girl.

"Uh, thanks for your help," Kailee told her as she stood up with the full box of groceries in her arms.

"Oh, it was nothing," the girl waved away her thanks. "Like I said, it was my fault anyway."

"We'd better be heading back, Keegan," Jayne reminded him softly. "It's getting late and Mama wanted these for supper." Keegan gave his cousin a sideways glance and a nod to let her know he had heard her before turning his attention back to the new girl.

"My name's Keegan," he told her. "These are my cousins, Jayne and Kailee." Each if the girls nodded politely at her, but neither girl was feeling very friendly at the moment. Their cousin was being too distracted by her for their liking, and she wasn't exactly trying to discourage him.

"I'm Adrianna," the girl told them.

"That's pretty," Keegan told her. She smiled coyly.

"Thank you," she replied.

Kailee cleared her throat impatiently from behind him, reminding her cousin it was time to go.

"Uh, you live around here?" Keegan asked Adrianna a little shyly. She chuckled softly.

"I guess you could say that," she said. "I've been staying in this alley."

"But where's your parents?" Keegan asked. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Daddy ran off when I was little and Mama died about a year ago," she told him.

"You mean you've been living on the streets for a year?" Keegan asked in surprise. She nodded sadly, her face downcast.

"The streets are no place for a girl," Keegan told her.

She didn't reply. Adrianna knew they were ninja and the fact that Keegan was obviously taken with her was just the opening she needed to start gaining the ninjas' trust. She was pulled from her thoughts as she realized that Keegan was talking again.

"Why don't you come stay with us?" he offered.

"I can't do that," Adrianna replied.

"Why not?" he asked.

"I don't want to impose on your family," she told him, hoping that he would insist on her coming with them.

"Oh, you would be imposing," Keegan assured her.

"Well, if you're sure," she said, hoping that her face didn't show all the excitement that was in her heart.

"I'm sure," he told her.

"All right then," she agreed. "Just let me grab my things." And with that, she turned and headed back into the alley.

"Keegan, what are you thinking?" Kailee hissed quietly at her cousin in annoyance.

"I can't leave that girl out here on the streets," he told her firmly.

"Why not? How do you know she's telling the truth?" Kailee wondered.

"Because I just know," was his reply.

"What is Uncle Kai and the others going to say about you bringing her back with us?" Jayne asked him. The children had been strictly instructed not to tell anyone the whereabouts of the Bounty or any unnecessary information concerning any of the ninja.

"I don't know," he answered, stopping to think for the first time since he had seen Adrianna.

He glanced down the alley to where Adrianna was. He knew what the streets were like. He couldn't just leave her out here to fend for herself. He'd never be able to forgive himself if he did. No, was just going to have to take a chance on what the others would say.

"Keegan?" Jayne asked quietly, drawing him from his thoughts. He turned back to them.

"I don't know what they're gonna say, but I can't just leave her out here," he told her and Kailee as Adrianna joined them. A wide smile was on her face and Jayne couldn't help but feel that it had a slight triumphant tone to it.

"You ready?" Keegan asked. Adrianna nodded and slipped her arm between his side and his right arm. He glanced at her and smiled warmly before taking the grocery box from Kailee and leading the way towards the Bounty, Adrianna holding tightly to his arm.

Jayne and Kailee exchanged glances. Something told them that there was more to her than what she let them see on the surface. There was something deeper, like a secret she was hiding. They weren't sure what it was, but whatever it was, neither of them liked it.

What do you think the ninja will say about Keegan bringing Adrianna to the Bounty? Do you think they will fall for her trickery like Keegan did? Or will they be suspicious like the twins? Let me know in the reviews!

-And-

Don't forget to leave your 'letter' with questions in the reviews and be sure to tell me who you think should be the host/hosts for the radio show!


	24. Chapter 24

Hey everybody! I know what you're thinking, "Finally, an update!" I'm sorry for taking so long to update this but I've been trying to get my other story started. I know this chapter doesn't have much action in it, but its really important to move the story along. Anyway, hope you enjoy it! ;-)

**Chapter 24**

When the four teens had returned to the Bounty, the others met them on the deck. All except Sensei. He had gone to visit Misako and Garmadon.

"What took you so long?" Nya asked as she took the box of groceries from Keegan. She hadn't spotted Adrianna yet, since she was hiding behind the other three.

"Well, we had a little accident with the groceries," Kailee told her. Nya looked at her puzzled.

"An accident?" she repeated. Kailee glanced sideways at Keegan.

"Do you want to explain it them or should I?" she asked him.

"I'll do it," he replied with a sigh. "While we were in the village, I ran into a girl." He chuckled. "And I literally mean 'ran into.' She said she was an orphan and had been sleeping in an alleyway."

"Oh, the poor thing," Nya said sympathetically. Kai was giving his son an incredulous look. He had a feeling he knew what was coming next.

"Well, I just couldn't leave her there," Keegan stated, his nervousness beginning to show. "So I, I mean we, brought her back with us."

And with that, Kailee and Jayne moved aside to reveal Adrianna. To their surprise, the girl who had been so forward with Keegan earlier seemed to have lost her confidence. She stood there shyly as the adults stared at her.

Keegan seemed to notice her uncertainty because he moved closer to her as if to offer her more support.

The adults were a little stunned by this action. It was obvious that Keegan was very taken with this girl.

Kai studied her carefully. He had to admit, she WAS very pretty. But there was something he didn't like about her. He wasn't sure what it was or why, but something inside him was telling him that she was trouble. Kai saw Keegan watching him closely, waiting for his reaction with a worried expression on his face. This wasn't the time to address his suspicions, Kai told himself. So instead, he turned his gaze towards his son.

"Well, you gonna introduce her to us?" Kai asked him. He could almost see the relief wash over the boy's face as a small smile appeared.

"Oh, right," Keegan said. "This is Adrianna. Adrianna, these are the ninja." He introduced each of them to her in turn and she smiled shyly at them.

"Well, I guess I'd better get dinner started if anybody's gonna eat tonight," Nya announced as she turned towards the kitchen. Then looking back over her shoulder, she called, "Jayne, Kailee, I'll need your help. Adrianna, you can come too, if you'd like."

The girl glanced sideways at Keegan, who motioned for her to go ahead. She gave him a warm smile and with a flip of her hair, she turned to follow Nya and the twins.

Keegan watched as she walked away, a small smile on his face. Kai noticed and cleared his throat loudly, causing Keegan's head to jerk towards him. Kai gave him a warning look and Keegan felt his face heat up as he realized his father had seen his actions. He dropped his head in embarrassment and quickly left the deck.

Kai sighed. He wasn't looking forward to the talk he knew he was gonna have to have with his son.

Though Adrianna remained quiet all during dinner that night, she made sure to notice everything that could be even remotely important to her mother's plan. Lloyd, Cole, and Zane didn't seem to mind her presence on the Bounty. Nya was a little cautious of her, as were her daughters. Kai, however, made it obvious that he was suspicious of her. Adrianna knew that if she was going to carry out her mother's mission without blowing her cover, she was going to have to watch her step carefully, especially around Kai.

Nya had set up a cot in one corner of the girls' room. The cot made the already small room even smaller, leaving barely enough room to walk around in. The girls were silent as they got ready for bed, thought the twins communicated with each other through their telepathic connection. All Adrianna saw, however, was their constant exchange of glances.

"Something tells me she's hiding something," Jayne told Kailee.

"I know, but what?" Kailee wondered. "Uncle Kai is suspicious of her too."

"I know," Jayne agreed. "I just wish Keegan was. I don't think he's even stopped to think about anything besides her since he ran into her."

"You know, that accident almost seemed like it was planned," Kailee told her sister.

"I thought so too," Jayne agreed. "She seemed almost too ready to come with us."

"I wonder why," Kailee told her. Jayne studied the girl from the corner of her eye.

"She's definitely up to something," she agreed with her sister. "I just wish I knew what."

"Well, we'll just have to find out," Kailee told her as they exchanged a quick glance before turning out the light and climbing into bed.

It was just after noon the next day when Sensei returned. Everybody gathered on the deck to greet him.

"Did you have a good trip, Sensei?" Zane asked.

"Yes, I did," Sensei replied.

Then he caught sight of Adrianna, standing at the back of the group. He stared at her, causing the teenager to squirm in fear that he could see right through her, down to the very reason why she was there. But nothing shocked her or the others more than his next words.

"I see you finally came," Sensei told Adrianna.

The girl's eyes opened wide in surprise, along with everyone else's, and she felt her heart begin to pound in fear. 'He knows,' she thought to herself in alarm.

"What are you talking about, Sensei?" Lloyd wondered.

"You mean you knew she was coming?" Nya asked. Sensei nodded.

"A few weeks ago, I had a vision," he told them. "It revealed to me that a new ninja would be coming soon."

Everyone was silent for a moment, allowing Sensei's words to sink in.

"Y- you mean that I-I'm the new n-ninja?" Adrianna asked nervously. Sensei nodded again.

"You, Ayana, are the ninja of darkness," he told her.

"Ayana? I thought your name was Adrianna?" Kailee said, all eyes turning towards the newest ninja.

"Ayana's my, uh, uh, nickname," she stuttered nervously. She felt the others' suspicious stares on her. Great, she thought to herself. I wonder if he knows anything else about me. At this rate they'll be throwing me off this boat in no time.

Sensei handed her a flat box containing her uniform.

"Put this on and then we will start your training," he told her.

With a nod, she took the box and went down the stairs to the bedroom she shared with the twins.

Once she had gone, Kai turned to Sensei.

"Sensei, are you sure you know what you're doing?" he asked.

"The spirit smoke never lies," was his teacher's only answer. "Now, we must continue with Keegan and the twins' training."

"But Sensei! We're already way ahead of our training schedule," Jayne protested.

"Yeah, Sensei, can't we have just one day off?" Kailee whined.

"The spirit smoke has also revealed to me the location of Keegan's golden weapon," Sensei told them.

"Really? What is it?" the boy asked in excitement.

"That, I cannot tell you," Sensei said. "Only that you will have to be in top form in order to gain access to your weapon and its ability."

"But why do we have to train so hard right now?" Kailee wondered. Sensei turned to face her and Jayne.

"Even though both of you have almost reached the peak of your training, you have yet to discover all of your abilities," he told them.

"What do you mean?" Jayne asked. Sensei gestured to their pendants.

"Your pendants are more than just symbols of your destiny. It will take more than physical strength to unlock the full individual power inside each of them," he said.

Both girls studied their pendants, pondering Sensei's words. What kind of powers did their necklaces have?

Meanwhile, Adrianna was standing in middle of the tiny bedroom. Her dark purple ninja suit was accented with black and silver and she had divided her thick black curls into two pigtails tied with purple bows.

She stared at her reflection in the full length mirror that hung on one of the walls. This couldn't be true, she thought to herself. It would ruin all of her plans! She was only supposed to be here long enough to learn the ninja's secrets. There was no way she could be a ninja!

But, on the other hand, maybe it would be easier to gain their trust if she was a ninja. As long as she could keep her cover and pretend to be one of them. She was sure that was going to be harder it sounded, what with Sensei and his spirit smoke.

His spirit smoke! How much did he know about her? When he had called her Ayana earlier, she had brushed it aside, calling it a nickname.

But it wasn't a nickname. It wasn't even her name anymore. Ayana meant good. No it didn't fit her anymore. She knew why her mother had changed her name to Adrianna. It meant dark, which was just what she had become.

True, on the outside she looked like the same girl, just a little older. But on the inside, she was somebody completely different. No longer was she the sweet, innocent little girl who enjoyed life and was afraid of nothing.

No, now she lived on a constant state of fear. Fear that someone would blow her cover and discover who she really was. She trusted no one, not even her own mother. Each new day was greeted with dread. Thanks to her mother, she had been taught how to hate life and everyone in it. To her, people were just things to be manipulated into giving her what she needed. She cared about nothing and nobody. Not even herself.

As she stared at the cold, hard, almost colorless gray eyes that stared back at her in the mirror, she almost shuddered. She hated who she had become.

Ninjas were good and kind; they cared about other people and lived to help them. None of that described her.

Or did it? Was it possible that there could be a little spark of feeling left inside of her? Did she dare to hope?

A knock at the door startled her out of her thoughts.

"Come in," she called. Keegan opened the door. He stopped in the doorway, staring at her with his eyes full of amazement.

"You look amazing!" he breathed. Adrianna felt her heart begin pounding in her chest and her cheeks heat up in a blush.

"Thanks," she told him softly.

"Uh, Sensei sent me to see if you were ready to start training," he said.

"Oh, I, uh, I guess I'm ready," she replied, glancing at the mirror one last time before following Keegan from the room.

A few weeks later, Adrianna silently slipped out of the Bounty. It was just past midnight and everyone had been in bed for several hours. She had to talk to her mother.

The past few weeks she had been on the Bounty, something had been happening to her. Something besides learning spinjitsu. The cold, hard shell of hatred that was inside her had began to melt. She had began to feel emotions that she hadn't felt in years. She was gaining the ninjas' trust, but in the process, they were were gaining hers. Each day brought her a little closer to them.

She still hadn't told them her true purpose for being there, though. That was something she wasn't looking forward to doing. What was her mother's plan anyway? She didn't know, but whatever it was, she knew it would involve harming if not killing the ninja.

She walked a little ways away from the ship, just to be sure that her conversation wasn't overheard. Flipping open her radio watch, she called her mother.

"Mother, this is Adrianna. Are you there?" she called quietly into the speaker. A few minutes later, static was heard and a voice came through the static.

"I was beginning to wonder when you were going to call," her mother's voice said.

"It took me awhile to find them," Adrianna told her.

"But you have found them?" Lilith clarified.

"Yes," was the girl's response.

"Excellent," her mother said. "Where are they?" Adrianna paused. Should she tell her mother where they were at? If she did she would be helping her in the plan. But if she didn't, her mother would find out her that she was actually beginning to have feelings for the ninja and Adrianna had no desire to find out how she would react to that piece of news.

"Just outside a little village not too far from Torchfire mountain," Adrianna informed her.

"Perfect, now what have you learned that will help me in my plan?" Lilith asked. Again, she hesitated. Her mother prodded her to talk and eventually, she had told her everything that she had noticed while on the Bounty.

"Great! I still need to know how their surveillance system works though. That way I know how to avoid it when we put my plan into motion," Lilith said when Adrianna had finished talking.

"What is the plan, mother?" the girl asked.

"Oh, it's nothing too complicated. We're just going to sneak up on the ninja and capture them," her mother replied.

"You're just going to capture them?" Adrianna asked, surprised that her mother hadn't said something worse. She almost thought she felt a little relieved. But her mother's evil laughter told her she had something else in mind besides just capturing them.

"Of course not! Once we get them back to my headquarters, then the fun will begin," Lilith told her. Adrianna closed her eyes, knowing exactly what her mother meant. She wasn't planning to kill them, at least right away. She was going to torture them. Adrianna had witnessed many of her mother's torture sessions. She still had nightmares sometimes about them. She couldn't erase the screams of agony and fear that the victims had emitted. Many of them had begged Lilith to just kill them, but her answer was always the same.

Laughter. It was a game to her. A sick game, Adrianna told herself.

"But mother, why do you want to hurt the ninja?" she asked.

"Because the ninja are good," was her mother's response. "And anything good must not be allowed to survive."

Adrianna felt her blood run cold at the heartless tone in her mother's voice. She was glad she hadn't told her about the fact that she was a ninja. How would her mother react to that? She shuddered at the thought of what she knew her mother's reaction would be.

Anger. She had learned the hard way to never cause her mother to get angry. Unconsciously, she touched her side where several scars were hidden. Those scars were reminders of her mother's unmerciful temper. No. There was no way she was telling her mother that she was a ninja.

"I've got to go," Adrianna told her mother. "I've got to get back before anyone wakes up and discovers I'm gone."

"All right, call me back the moment you find out what I need to know," was her mother's reply just before she hung up.

Adrianna closed her watch and sighed. Guilt was in her heart as she thought about the fact that she had just revealed the ninjas' location to her mother. She didn't know when her mother would launch her attack, but she had a feeling that she wouldn't wait long. Especially if she knew how to slip through the ninjas' surveillance system unnoticed.

The girl shook her head. There was no way she was going to tell her mother anything about that. The ninja had been kind to her. She trusted them and they her. She had never fully trusted anyone since that day when her life had changed drastically for the worst. There was something inside her that wouldn't allow her to fully betray them.

She slipped silently back onboard and made her way to the bedroom and her cot. Sleep overcame her quickly, but it was not a good sleep. For the rest of the night, the images of the people she had seen her mother torture and the sounds of their cries filled her head.

So what did you think? The next chapter will be about their tests so I promise that it will have some more action in it. ;-)

ALSO- I've been having a little bit of a problem coming up with a design for my OCs ninja uniforms. So I thought you guys might like to help me come up with some ideas. I really need a design for the girls as Keegan's uniform is similar to the ninjas'. Please don't do anything immodest and keep in mind that they are only thirteen/ fourteen years old. Here's some info you might need:

Kailee:

Colors: yellow and black accents

Elements: fire and earth

Weapon: double daggers

Personality: tomboyish

Physical appearance: straight jet black hair that reaches just below her shoulder blades (she keeps it in a ponytail mostly) with sideways bangs

Hazel eyes

Notch in left eyebrow like Kai

Jayne:

Colors: aqua blue and white/black accents

Elements: ice and lightning

Weapon: bow and arrow

Personality: about average (not totally a tomboy, but a complete girly girl either)

Physical appearance: white-blonde hair that reaches to her waist (she usually keeps it in a braid) light fringe of bangs across her forehead which she usually keeps curled

Ice-blue eyes

Slash through right eyebrow like Jay

Adrianna/Ayana:

Colors: purple and black

Element: darkness

Weapon: hasn't been revealed yet

Personality: girly girl

Physical appearance: thick curly black hair that reaches just above her waist

Gray, almost colorless eyes

Keegan:

Colors: dark orange and black

Element: mind (not sure what to call it)

Weapon: hasn't been revealed yet

Physical appearance: wild curly reddish brown hair like Kai

Bright green eyes

If really like for the girls' uniform to have a skirt at least to their knees if that's possible. And if you can come up with a symbol design for Adrianna's darkness and Keegan's mind elements that would be awesome!

If you'd like to try drawing and or all of them, please let me know so I can make a list of everyone. You can post your picture on deviantart, Instagram, or any other site just as long as you send me the link so I can find your picture. I'm going to give you at least two weeks to draw unless someone asks me for longer.

Once all the drawings are in, I'm going to post the links on here and take a vote for the best one. The one that wins will be the design I will use in my story!

So be sure to let me know if you plan on trying to draw a design so I can be sure not to leave you out! ;-) And feel free to PM me if you have any questions!

Good luck with your drawings! ;-)


	25. Chapter 25

Ok so the test is not in this chapter but it will be in the next one. This one focuses on Adrianna's struggle between her good and evil. Also you get to see a little interaction with Keegan too! ;-) enjoy!

Chapter 25

-A month later-

Keegan, Adrianna, and the twins were training on the deck of the Bounty. But instead of the other ninja fighting against them, Sensei had instructed the four teens to race each other on the training course. He and the others watched from the sidelines, timing each of their runs.

After about two hours of constant training, Sensei declared that they were ready.

"Tomorrow we will arrive at the Cave of Illusion where each of you will undergo your biggest test yet," he told the four teens.

"Why is it called the Cave of Illusion?" Kailee asked.

"You will find out soon enough," Sensei replied. "Just remember, sometimes your worst fears aren't as real as they seem."

The four looked at each other, puzzled, as Sensei headed in the direction of the bridge.

"I wonder what he meant by that?" Jayne thought out loud.

"I guess we'll find out soon enough," Kailee told her with a shrug of her shoulders.

"I can't wait to get my weapon!" Keegan exclaimed, standing in his battle pose, pretending to fight off an enemy with a pretend weapon. "I wonder what it's gonna be? Maybe it'll be a sword or maybe even something better!" His eyes were lit up with excitement as he thought of all the possible weapons he might get.

"I bet it'll be a stick," Kailee said and Jayne snickered. Keegan looked at her funny.

"Why a stick?" he wondered.

"Well, you're so good at using sticks as weapons, I just thought it would be funny if you ended up with a golden stick," Kailee answered. Keegan looked a little worried.

"You don't think that's possible, do you?" he asked her. Kailee smiled and shook her head.

"No, I'm just teasing," she assured him. "I honestly have no idea what it will be."

"What do you think our test will be?" Jayne wondered.

"I don't know, I just hope it's not too hard," Adrianna said. She had come a long way in learning to trust people and everyone on the Bounty was actually starting to like her.

"Yeah, but with the way Sensei kept pushing us to train, I have a feeling that it will," Jayne told them.

"Do you think I'll get a weapon too?" Adrianna wondered out loud.

"I would think so," Keegan told her. "Most ninja always have a weapon."

"Uncle Lloyd doesn't," Kailee reminded him.

"I said MOST," her cousin emphasized.

"That's something I've always wondered," Jayne said.

"What is?" Kailee asked, puzzled. Jayne sighed.

"Why Uncle Lloyd doesn't have a weapon," she repeated.

"Oh," her sister said. "I don't know."

"Hey, since we're done with our training for today, let's do something fun," Keegan told the girls.

"Sounds great to me," Kailee agreed. "But what?"

"How about capture the flag?" Jayne suggested.

"Yeah, I haven't played that game since I was little," Adrianna told them excitedly.

"I guess we're playing capture the flag then," Kailee surmised as Keegan nodded his agreement.

"Kailee and I will be team captains," Keegan stated.

"Oh, and let me guess, you're gonna go first and pick Adrianna on your team?" Kailee guessed, a sly smile on her face. Keegan felt his face heat up.

"Well, you were gonna choose Jayne if you went first," Keegan pointed out.

"Yeah, I was," she agreed.

By dinner time that night, Keegan and Adrianna had captured Kailee and Jayne's flag twice while theirs had been taken five times. It was obvious that the twins knew how to work together as a team.

"I think we need to split the two of you up next time," Keegan told Jayne and Kailee as the four of them joined the others at the table. "What you think, Adrianna?"

"Sounds like a good plan to me," she replied, filling her plate with some of the stew Nya had made and taking a large bite.

"Aw, you're just jealous of the way we work together," Kailee said as she took a bite of her stew.

"Yeah, not to mention the fact that we can talk to each other without talking out loud," Jayne added.

"You kids need to eat and not do so much talking," Cole told them. "You all need a good night's rest to be in shape for tomorrow." The teenagers nodded and the rest of the meal was finished in silence.

"Are you guys nervous about the test tomorrow?" Adrianna asked Kailee and Jayne later when the three of them were getting in their room ready for bed.

"I am," Jayne admitted from the end of the bed where she sat brushing out her braid. "What about you, Kailee? Are you scared?" Kailee snorted.

"Me, scared?" she asked sarcastically. "Never! I'm not afraid of anything!" Jayne gave her a look that said she didn't believe her, making Kailee sigh in defeat. "Yes, I am a little nervous."

"I just hope that we all can stay together," Adrianna said.

"Yeah, there's safety in numbers," Kailee added.

Jayne laid her brush down on the vanity and began fingering her broken heart pendant.

"I wonder what kind of power this has," she thought out loud.

"I don't know," Kailee said. "I've been wondering the same thing since Sensei said that."

"Maybe it'll help me with my lightning power," Jayne suggested. She had been having trouble controlling the lightning. Lloyd had tried to teach her, but even he didn't seem to be able to help her.

"I'll bet you'd be able to control it if Dad were still here," Kailee told her sister.

"Yeah," Jayne agreed with a sigh.

"Where is your father?" Adrianna wondered. She was sitting on her cot waiting for the twins to finish getting ready for bed.

"He was killed in an accident in Tortchfire Mountain," Kailee told her sadly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Adrianna apologized.

"We were only babies when he died," Jayne added.

"Has your mother told you anything about him?" Adrianna asked.

"She didn't when we were younger," Kailee said. "She kept the fact that he was a ninja a secret from us. She even made our uncles stop being ninja whenever they were around us."

"Why would she do that?" Adrianna wondered.

"She said she wanted to protect us," Jayne said. "Being a ninja is the reason she lost our father."

"That must be hard on her, loosing your father and then having to watch the two of you train to be ninja," Adrianna said sympathetically.

"She still doesn't talk about him much," Kailee stated. "We don't like to mention him around her because it makes her sad to think about him. Uncle Kai too. He and Daddy were best friends."

"Yeah, whenever we have a question about Daddy, we always go to Uncle Cole or Uncle Zane or Uncle Lloyd," Jayne said.

The girls were silent for a moment as Kailee turned out the lights and crawled into bed beside Jayne.

"What about your family, Adrianna? Do you remember them?" Kailee asked.

"Yeah, you haven't said anything about your family in the entire almost two months that you've been here," Jayne pointed out.

"Uh, I, uh, I was young when they died so no, I don't remember anything," Adrianna replied. There was something in her tone though that made Jayne feel uneasy. Almost like she was hiding something. She started to ask Kailee if she had sensed it too, but a quick glance at her sister's face told her that she too had sensed it.

No more questions were asked that night and soon, Adrianna heard the sound of the twins' easy breathing punctuated by Kailee's soft occasional snores. Adrianna lay on her cot, desperately trying to go to sleep. Sleep, however, seemed to have fled far from her reach.

After lying there for about an hour, she found herself still no closer to sleep than she had been earlier. Slowly, she allowed her mind to wander as she began to think about things other than sleep.

During the past almost two months she had been living with the ninja, she had learned a lot of things. They had taught her how to do spinjitsu and some of the ninja ways of fighting. But most importantly, they had taught her how to trust people again. She had almost forgotten how it felt to completely trust someone; to be able to go to sleep at night and feel safe. She had to admit that it felt good.

She looked out the window next to her bed. There was a full moon that night, so the outside of the ship was unusually lit up. Her stomach rumbled softly and she almost giggled. Maybe there was something in the kitchen she could grab to snack on, she thought to herself as she stood to her feet and grabbed her purple robe. Wrapping it tightly around her, Adrianna silently tiptoed out of the bedroom, making her way to the kitchen.

Once there, she quickly grabbed an apple and headed back towards the bedroom, though she was stopped and stood on the deck for a few minutes. Well, it started out as only a few minutes. She stood, leaning against the wooden railing, munching contentedly on her apple and enjoying the night view. A gentle breeze blowing was the only thing that interrupted the stillness of the night.

When she had lived with her mother, the darkness had made her feel safe. She had always had an abnormal ability to see in the dark which had come in handy when she had needed to hide from her mother's angry tantrums. Now she understood why she had that ability. She was the ninja of darkness. It also made sense why the darkness had a calming effect on her.

"I thought I had heard someone come out here," a voice behind her said, startling Adrianna from her thoughts. She turned to see Keegan standing there. "You couldn't sleep either?" he asked. She shook her head.

"I thought a snack might help me go to sleep, but it doesn't seem to be working," she told him. He smiled.

"The moon's real pretty tonight itn't it?" Keegan asked as he leaned up against the railing next to her.

"It is," Adrianna replied. They were both silent for a few minutes, an uncomfortable silence hanging between them.

"So, why can't you sleep?" Keegan wondered.

"I don't know," Adrianna replied. "I guess I'm just not sleepy."

"You're not nervous about tomorrow are you?" Keegan asked her.

"Yeah, I guess I am a little," she admitted. "What if I can't complete my test? What of I'm not good enough? What if I fail?" She stated that fear in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Believe me, you're more than ready. You'll do just fine," Keegan told her.

"How can you be so sure?" she wondered.

"Trust me, I just know," was his reply.

Adrianna looked up at him. He had gotten a growth spurt a few weeks ago so he was finally taller than her and his cousins. Her pale gray eyes looked deep into his bright green ones as she felt her breath catch in her throat. She felt her heart begin to pound so loudly that she was sure Keegan could hear it too. But if he did, he showed no indication that he had, he only continued to hold her eyes in his deep stare.

There was something in his eyes that she had never seen before. She had seen them filled with concern, laughter, sadness, and even fear, but never this. This was something different. The fact that she couldn't interpret his stare probably would have frightened her if it had not been for the fact that she felt captured by it.

"Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" Keegan asked, his voice soft and meaningful, his eyes never leaving hers. Adrianna swallowed hard.

"I believe I recall hearing you say something to that effect when I ran into you that day," she told him, flirting just slightly with him.

Keegan didn't reply. He only continued to stare at her, a small smile on his handsome face. Again, she felt captivated in his gorgeous bright green eyes. He was so handsome!

What a minute! Did I just think that? she asked herself in alarm. I shouldn't allow myself to think like that. I can't get attached to anyone, she reminded herself. After all, I'm only supposed to be here long enough to gain the information mother needs. But oh how much she wanted to stay! As much as she hated to admit it, she really was falling in love with this teenage boy. It was something that seemed to be happening faster and faster the more she tried to quell it. She knew that Keegan had feelings for her, but would he still care for her if he knew who she really was? She was afraid to find out the answer to that question.

Keegan noticed the worry lines that creased her forehead. She dropped her head sometime during the process of her thoughts.

"What's wrong?" he asked in concern. Her head jerked up to look at him.

"What makes you think something is wrong?" she asked innocently. Gently, he ran his fingers over her forehead, tracing the lines that troubled her pretty young skin.

"Most people only get these when they're worried about something," he told her softly. She sighed.

"It's nothing really," she told him. Keegan knew from her voice that she was lying, but he said nothing to contradict her. If she wanted him to know what was wrong, then she would tell him when she was ready.

Instead, he continued to stare deep into her eyes, a smile on his face. He could feel his heart pounding and knew that hers had to be doing the same. Even in the dim moonlight, she looked amazing! The gentle breeze was blowing her thick black curls that hung over her shoulders. Her gray eyes, though, held a puzzle. He could see the emotion in them as she tried desperately to hide it. He knew because the emotion he saw in them was the same that he felt and that was obvious in his own his. Love. As stood there on the deck of the Bounty staring into her eyes, he realized how much he loved her. He REALLY loved her. This wasn't just some schoolboy crush. No, this was the real thing.

Suddenly, he felt the urge to kiss her. He took a step closer to her. Slowly, he began to lean down until her lips were within reach of his. Adrianna's eyes widened slightly as she realized what he was going to do, but she didn't object. Keegan hesitated, his lips a few inches from hers, his searching hers as if asking for permission. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, tilting her face up towards his a little more. That was all the permission he needed.

Gently, he pressed his lips against her soft ones.

"I love you," he told her when the kiss ended.

Suddenly, Adrianna whirled around, her back facing him, breathing heavily. Immediately, he felt afraid. Afraid that she was angry with him for kissing her. Maybe he should've made sure that she wanted him too. He rested his hand gently on her shoulder. That's when he realized that she was crying.

"Adrianna, I'm sorry," he apologized softly. She shook her head.

"It's not you," she told him. "It's just that if you knew who I really was, you wouldn't feel this way about me."

Keegan was puzzled. What was she talking about? What could she be hiding that could be bad enough to make him stop loving her.

"That could never happen," he assured her. Gently, he turned her around to face him. He lifted her chin until his eyes locked with hers. "Tell me," he said.

Adrianna considered telling him everything right then. She wanted to tell him. She needed to tell somebody. But as she stared into his eyes, she became afraid. What if he didn't love her anymore after she told him? What if he got angry with her? She didn't think she could handle that. She needed him to love her. She hasn't really felt loved since her father had been killed. No, she couldn't tell him now. She shook her head, a fresh wave of tears coming to her eyes.

"I can't," she told him, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm sorry," she said just before fleeing the deck.

Keegan remained on deck. He leaned against the wooden railing, staring out into the night. Why couldn't she tell him? Surely there was nothing she could tell him that would cause him to stop loving her. The kiss had left him feeling breathless and his heart was still pounding. He had kissed many girls before, but never had he felt this way about them. He smiled slightly. She was absolutely perfect! He just wished she would tell him what was bothering her.

When Adrianna had fled the deck, she stopped in the hallway, desperately trying to get a hold of her emotions. Why hadn't she told him? She knew that it would make her feel better to tell someone. Why hadn't she?

Fear. Fear had kept her from telling him. She was afraid of his reaction. She wished she hadn't've been so afraid. Now he probably thought that he had done something wrong. But he hadn't. She smiled as she remembered the kiss. It had been wonderful. She almost wished he had done it twice.

Stop it! she scolded herself. You shouldn't be thinking such things, Adrianna told herself as she silently tiptoed to the bedroom that she shared with the twins. As she climbed into bed and lay down, sleep was the furthest thing from her mind.

What did you think? Let me know in the reviews!

As for the contest, so far there are four entries: SergeantSarcasm7, Jayandnyaforever, Night-core circus, and Lady Marissa Garmadon. Anyone is still welcome to enter, just be sure to let me know!

I plan on giving everyone two weeks to finish their drawings in. You may submit as many designs as you'd like.

Once everyone is finished drawing, I will post links to the pictures on here and guess what? All of you get to vote on the best one! The one that gets the most votes will be the design I use for my story!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed and who are participating in the contest!

Good luck with all of your drawings!


	26. Chapter 26

Hey everybody! Here's my next chapter! I know, you're probably all saying, "Finally!" But I've been working on a few ideas for KairiVenomus' NFAN contest. I was also having a little bit of trouble with the kids' tests.

Anyway, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter 26

"Your highnessssss, the ninja are docked at the Cave of Illusssionsss," the serpentine leader informed his master.

"Good, then gather your army and go after them," Lilith said. "Don't bother with the ninja unless you have to. Just bring me the elemental twins."

"Yessss, your highnesssss," Scales agreed with a bow before backing out of the room to go gather his serpentine army.

The sun was shining brightly when Adrianna awoke the next morning. She groaned quietly at its brightness. It had been close to four o'clock by the time she had finally fallen asleep and the lack of sleep was quickly catching up to her. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand. 7:30. I don't think a few more minutes will hurt anything, she thought to herself as she laid her head back down in her pillow.

The next thing she knew, Nya was waking her up.

"Adrianna, it's time to get up," Nya told her, gently shaking her shoulder. The girl sat up and yawned before opening her eyes. "Good morning! Did you sleep good?" Nya asked her.

"No ma'am," Adrianna answered, followed by another yawn. As she stood to her feet, she realized that the twins' bed was empty. "Where's Kailee and Jayne?" she asked.

"Oh, they got up awhile ago. I think the last I saw them, that Sensei had them brushing up on their fighting skills," Nya replied. "They didn't think you had slept very well last night so we decided to let you sleep a little later today. The guys let Keegan sleep later too." Adrianna felt her face heat up slightly at the mention of Keegan's name and she ducked her head. If Nya noticed, she didn't say anything.

Ten minutes later, Adrianna joined the twins on the deck where they were going through their fighting routines. She found that Keegan too was already there, though he looked like he had just gotten started.

"Adrianna, I'm glad to see that you decided to join us," Sensei told the girl as she made her way over to him. Her cheeks blushed lightly with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, Sensei. I guess I overslept," she told him.

"I see that someone else has had a similar problem as well," he remarked, sending a quick glance to Keegan who refused to meet the man's eyes. "I will excuse you this time. Just don't make a habit of it." He handed her a long staff. "Here, until you find your weapon, you will use this," Sensei said. "Now go out there and show me what you can do." Adrianna nodded and did as she was told.

Sensei and the other ninja drilled the four teens thoroughly in their fighting skills. All of them were more than happy when Nya called them for lunch.

It was just after noon when the Bounty arrived at the Cave of Illusion. The sky above the cave had turned dark and a light drizzle of rain was falling. Flashes of lightning streaked across the sky followed by the boom of thunder. The cave itself was dark and mysterious.

"We are here," Sensei said quietly as he stood on the deck, staring at the cave. Soon, everyone had joined him at the railing.

"It's... so big!" Kailee exclaimed.

"It looks scary," Jayne said. Though the other three teens didn't admit it, they were just as frightened as Jayne was.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go," Cole said as he began to lower the Bounty's ramp.

"No," Sensei said. Everyone turned to face him. "WE are not going in."

"No?" Lloyd asked in surprise. "But, Uncle, I thought that was why we came here."

"We came here for the children's tests," Sensei told him. "But they have to be alone during their tests."

"What?" Nya asked. "You mean that I have to let both of my girls go in there and I can't even go with them?" Sensei nodded.

"They will be just fine, Nya," he assured her. Nya didn't look as though she believed him, but she had never questioned Sensei's word and she wasn't about to start now.

"Don't worry, Mother, we'll be just fine," Kailee told Nya, giving her a confident smile. Nya smiled back. Kailee's confidence was contagious.

The twins grabbed their weapons and Keegan and Adrianna picked up the staffs that Sensei had told them to use.

"Remember, sometimes your worst fears are not as scary as they seem to be," Sensei told the four of them who nodded.

Kailee and Jayne hugged their mother and each of their uncles bye while before joining Keegan and Adrianna who were waving to everyone as they made their way down the ramp.

Slowly, they approached the mouth of the cave.

"It's so dark," Adrianna said quietly. "I wish we would've brought a light." Kailee spotted an unlit torch on the ground just inside the cave.

"It looks like we did bring a light," she said as she grabbed the torch and quickly lit it with her fire element.

"Wow, your powers sure do come in handy," Adrianna remarked as they began entering the cave. "I wish I knew how to use mine like that."

"Don't worry, you will learn," Jayne assured her. "You might even learn today."

"I wonder what these tests are supposed to accomplish?" Keegan asked out loud.

"Sensei said that through them, you and Adrianna would find your weapons," Kailee reminded him.

"Yeah, but why couldn't Sensei just give us our weapons?" Keegan wondered. "I mean, you and Jayne didn't have to go on any test to get yours."

"That was because Sensei already had our weapons," Jayne told him. "He doesn't have yours."

"And besides, he made us come for some kind of test too," Kailee added.

By that time, the four of them had come to a spot where the cave split into four tunnels.

"Which one do we take?" Adrianna asked.

"I think this is what Sensei meant when he said that we had to be alone," Keegan said.

"You mean we have to split up?" Jayne exclaimed.

"I think so," he told her.

But how do we know who goes down which tunnel?" Adrianna wondered.

"Look, each tunnel has symbols by it," Kailee pointed out as she noticed the little symbols that were carved in the rock above the tunnel entrances. "I'll bet that we're each supposed to take the tunnel with our elemental symbol on it."

"I bet you're right," Keegan agreed.

"But, it's so dark in there," Jayne whined. "And we only have one torch."

As if by magic, Kailee looked on the ground just then and, hidden slightly by the shadows, were three more unlit torches.

"Not anymore we don't," she announced as she quickly lit each torch and handed one to both Keegan and Adrianna.

"Well, I guess the sooner we get started, the sooner it'll be over," Adrianna remarked as she began entering her tunnel. Keegan gave his cousins a quick wink and a smile before following Adrianna's example and entering his own.

"Do we really have to split up?" Jayne asked her sister. Kailee nodded. "But Kailee, we've never been apart! What if something bad happens? Neither of us are as strong alone as we are when we're together!"

"Jaynie, calm down! You will be alright!" Kailee told her almost hysterical sister. "You can face anything that comes up by yourself. Trust me, you are stronger than you think." Jayne took a deep breath and hugged her sister tightly. When she pulled away, she looked into Kailee's eyes, feeling herself slowly becoming more confident. She smiled.

"Thanks," Jayne said. Kailee nodded.

"You ready now?" she asked. Jayne nodded. "Good! Lets go do this."

"Ninja Girls Rule!" the twins said loudly, giving each other a high five before taking off down their tunnels.

-Adrianna's Test-

She had been walking for what seemed like forever, though it had really only been five minutes. The tunnel was dreadfully dark, making her very thankful for the brightness of her torch. The air was heavy and smelled damp and musty. Everything was quiet. Too quiet. Adrianna felt herself tense with each step that took her further and further into the tunnel. Something was going to happen.

Suddenly, a bright florescent glow was seen up ahead. Cautiously, Adrianna approached it. It was a person, she realized, though she wasn't close enough to see who it was. And then, it spoke.

"Well, my daughter, what are you doing here?" That voice was the voice of her mother. She would've recognized that evil, sarcastic tone anywhere.

"A better question would be, what are YOU doing here?" Adrianna replied. Her mother laughed evilly.

"I've heard some rumors about you thinking that you were a ninja," she informed her. "And I just had to come make sure they weren't true." Adrianna stood up straight and squared her shoulders.

"It's not a rumor," she said. "I AM a ninja." Her mother laughed again.

"Imagine that, my daughter, a ninja?" her mother continued to laugh. "That's a good one!"

"Mother, I'm serious. I really am a ninja," Adrianna told her, her voice growing stern.

"All right then, if you really are a ninja, let me seething use your elemental power," Lilith said, crossing her glowing arms and fixing her steely cold eyes on her daughter.

"I can't use my element yet," her daughter said.

"Can't use it?" her mother repeated.

"I haven't unlocked it yet," Adrianna told her.

"That's what I thought," Lilith said smugly. "You'll never be a ninja." Adrianna's head jerked up and she glared at her mother fiercely.

"That's not true! I just haven't learned how to yet!" she protested.

"And what makes you think that you ever will?" her mother asked.

"Because Sensei Wu told me I am," she answered.

"How do you know he wasn't lying?" Lilith wondered. "How do you know that you can trust him?"

"Because... because," Adrianna stopped. Why had she believed Sensei? It had been years since she had fully trusted anyone. So why had she believed him?

Had it just been because, deep down inside, she had been hoping for some kind of change in her life? Searching for even the slightest bit of good that might've been left inside her? Maybe her mother was right. Maybe Sensei really had been lying

Her mother chuckled softly.

"See? Even you don't really believe that you're a ninja," she said, as if she could read her daughter's thoughts. A smug smile appeared on her face as she continued. "Face it, girl. You'll never be a ninja. A ninja is good and kind. A ninja knows how to trust others. They don't deceive or take advantage of people. Tell me, do you do any of that?"

Adrianna was silent as she contemplated her mother's words. Lilith was right. She wasn't good and though she tried to be kind, she knew she failed miserably at times. It was true, she did have trouble trusting other people. And she couldn't count how many times that she had taken advantage of or deceived people.

As she thought about all of that, Adrianna felt her confidence melt away. There was no way she was a ninja. She gave a little nod.

"I thought so," her mother said. "You are everything that a ninja isn't. You are evil. You always have been and you always will be."

Adrianna lowered her head in shame. How could I have been so foolish to think that I could someday be a ninja? she thought to herself.

But wait a minute. What had her mother just said?

"You are evil. You always have been and you always will be."

That wasn't true! She hadn't always been evil. There had been a time when she had been good. It wasn't until she had gone to live with her mother that she had become evil.

Her mother. It was was HER fault that she was evil. Every day for all the years that Adrianna had been living with her, her mother had brainwashed her, telling her how evil and bad she was. After so long, she had started to believe it.

She really wasn't evil! Adrianna raised her head and glared at her mother with renewed confidence.

"You're wrong!" she told her firmly. "The only reason that I act evil is because of you! You brainwashed me into believing that I was evil. Before you took me to live with you, I was good. An deep down inside, I still am."

Lilith's glare hardened and she took a couple steps toward her daughter. But Adrianna wasn't finished yet.

"You killed my father just so that you could get to me! You never really loved me! You only wanted me for your plan to take over Ninjago!"

"So, you finally figured it out," Lilith said. "You're right. As soon as my plan was complete, I would've gotten rid of you just like everyone else."

Adrianna glared at her mother's glowing form, brandishing her staff in her hands.

"You're not my mother," she practically growled. "You don't deserve to be called that." Lilith's eyes opened wide in shock and surprise. Adrianna didn't think it was so much because of what she had said as the fact that she had just stood up against her. If it hadn't been for the fact that she was angry, Adrianna might've been afraid of her mother's reaction. In all the years she had lived with her, she had NEVER stood up against her mother without suffering severe consequences. And from the looks of her mother's face, Lilith wasn't about to break her tradition.

"How dare you talk back to me like that!" she roared. Before Adrianna had a chance to block it, Lilith's hand came across her cheek with a hard, resounding slap. Adrianna flinched, but resisted the urge to cry out and touch her cheek. To show pain would only be giving her mother the satisfaction of knowing that she had inflicted pain and Adrianna wasn't about to give her the satisfaction of anything. Squaring her shoulders, she glared deep into her mother's bright, almost translucent eyes.

"I'm not afraid of you!" she announced as loudly as she could. As soon as the words left her mouth, her eyes opened wide at what began to happen.

Lilith screamed as her glowing form began to fade and blink from bright to dark. A swirl of light streamed quickly towards Adrianna and she was enveloped in its brightness. She closed her eyes against the bright light and covered her ears, trying to block out her mother's screams.

And then as quickly as it had appeared, the light faded and Lilith's screams stopped. Slowly, she opened her eyes, dropping her hands to her sides and looked around. Her mother's glowing form was gone. It was almost as if she had never been there. Had she just been imagining everything? She didn't think so. She felt different somehow, though she wasn't sure why.

Thankfully, through some kind of miracle, her torch had not gone out. She retrieved it from its place on the rock floor next to a large puddle where it had rolled when she had stopped it sometime earlier. As she bent to pick it up, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the water. She let out a little gasp of surprise as she lifted the torch closer, enabling her to get a better view of herself. A slow smile spread itself across her face as she stared down at the reflection that smiled back at her, realizing why she felt so different.

Her jet black hair had now turned back to its natural golden brown hue. The colorless gray eyes had been replaced by vibrant blue ones. Every last bit of evil had been removed from her! She was back to the way she had been before Lilith had taken her to live with her. She was Ayana again! Happy tears came to her eyes. She barely even noticed the large purple bruise that had been left on her cheek by her mother's hand.

A grinding sound behind her reminded her of the true reason for being there. Standing to her feet, she turned to find that a small section of the stone wall had opened, revealing a stone pedestal atop of which lay a golden mace.

Well, what do you think? Are you totally in love with Ayana now! And yes, I am gonna start calling her Ayana from now on! I had a lot of readers who have been asking me about that.

And don't forget about my contest! You can check out my profile on deviant art to see a few changes that have been made. I absolutely cannot wait to see what everyone comes up with!

QUESTION:

What is your favorite part in this story so far? Why?


	27. Chapter 27

All right, before I get into the next chapter, there's a few things I'd like to say. First of all, I'd like to say thank you to all my readers, especially to my newest reviewer HersheyChoco101. You have no idea how much I enjoy reading your thoughts and comments! I'm glad that you all are enjoying this story so much!

Second, I haven't forgotten about my other story. I do plan on updating that soon, I've just been busy trying to write this one and ideas for KairiVenomus' NAFN contest. But don't worry, I will not abandon it!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 27

-Keegan's Test-

The fourteen year old boy was cautiously advancing down the dreary tunnel, a burning torch held high above his head. In his other hand, he held the staff that Sensei had given him for a weapon. Although he had pretended otherwise, he was just as frightened as Adrianna and his younger cousins were.

Slowly, he continued to advance further into the tunnel. It was SO dark. He held the torch out in front of him, trying to see through the darkness better. He had never seen darkness this thick.

Well, actually, there had been one other time, he remembered. It had been just after his mother had died. He had been living with his grandfather. His grandfather had left early that morning and had not returned until very late that night. As the sun had set, a thick, inky black darkness had settled around the blacksmith's shop where his grandfather worked and lived. He hadn't even been able to see the flower boxes that sat on the edge of the windowsill.

When his grandfather had returned that night, Keegan knew that he had been drinking. The loss of his daughter had hit him so hard that he had turned to drinking. The boy had tried to hide in the tiny closet of a bedroom he had been staying in, but soon found that his grandfather had other plans in mind for him.

Keegan squeezed his shut tightly as he remembered his cries of pain as his grandfather had repeatedly beat him. That was the night that he had officially started hating him. It wasn't long after that incident that he had run away, realizing that the streets had to treat him better than his own grandfather did.

He had known that his grandfather had hated him. Ever since he had been born, the man had had nothing to do with him. Not only had he hated him, but he had hated his father, Kai.

Back then, Keegan hasn't known his father's name. His mother had refused to tell him. She had told him that he was a good man, a kind man, that he thought of others before he thought of himself. But she wouldn't give any physical description of him. The only thing she had told him was that he would find his father when the time was right.

As he walked deeper into the dark tunnel, he remembered all the numerous times that he had thought about his father while he had been living on the streets. They were more than he could count. A few times, like when he had had a bad day, he would tell himself that he hated his father; that it was his father's fault that he was having to beg for food on the street corners.

As time passed, those feelings had begun to set in deeper and before he realized it, he was blaming his father for everything bad that happened in his life. It was true that some of those things probably wouldn't have happened had his father not abandoned him, but he knew from what his mother had told him, that his father wouldn't have wanted him to live that way. After all, how many times had his mother assured him that his father still loved him.

Keegan smiled. He had been so happy when he had discovered that Kai was his father. His mother had been right about everything. Kai HAD still loved him.

"No, you just think he loves you," a familiar voice said. Keegan tensed at the sound of it. He knew that voice too well.

"Grandfather," he said, his voice full of hatred as he searched for the place where the voice had come from.

"I see you didn't forget my voice," his grandfather said with and evil chuckle.

"I could never forget it," Keegan assured him, anger rising up inside of him.

"Ah, yes, that's right," his grandfather's voice said as if he had just remembered something. Keegan's eyes continued to search the darkness for any sign of his grandfather.

"What's right?" he asked.

"My voice haunts you in your mind," he heard his grandfather's voice say. "That's why you can't see me right now."

"What do you want with me?" Keegan demanded.

"I want you to quit lying to yourself," was the reply he heard. "Telling yourself that your father loves you. That's not true, he hasn't ever lived anyone except himself. He doesn't love you; he didn't even love your mother."

"You're wrong!" Keegan yelled. "He did too love my mother!"

"If he loved her so much, then why did he leave her like did?" his grandfather asked.

"He said he was scared," was Keegan's reply.

"Scared of what? Of me?" his grandfather's voice said. "If he had really loved her, it wouldn't've mattered to him what anyone around him did."

Keegan didn't reply. Maybe his grandfather was right. Maybe Kai had just been saying that to ease his conscious. Maybe his father really hadn't loved his mother. If that was true, did he really love Keegan either?

He heard his grandfather's evil chuckle.

"And as for that girl, she doesn't really love you either," his grandfather informed him. "She's only using you to get what she wants."

"What do you mean? What is it she wants?" Keegan asked.

"The ninjas' trust," was his grandfather's reply. "She's been stealing all of their secrets and giving them to their ultimate enemy."

"What?" Keegan asked, surprised. Was that really true. He thought back to all the times he had seen Adrianna. She had flirted with him a lot, especially at first. That was how come his cousins hadn't liked her much.

But she had changed. The twins liked her now. She had even refused to kiss him the other night. If she was really trying to use him, she wouldn't've done that. Or would she? Keegan didn't know anymore.

"Face it, boy, no one loves you," his grandfather said. "No one has and they never will."

Something inside Keegan snapped when he heard that last statement. That wasn't true! His mother had loved him. Even if his father and Adrianna and everybody else didn't, she had. And he had loved her. There was no way he was gonna let anyone say things like that about her, especially not his grandfather.

"You're wrong! My mother loved me and I loved her," Keegan yelled into the darkness.

"You'd better not be talking to me like that, boy," came his grandfather's harsh reply. "Are you forgetting what I can do to you?"

"You can't hurt me!" Keegan told him just as harshly. "I'm not afraid of you!"

And with that, the thick darkness vanished, taking his grandfather's voice along with it. Keegan stood there a minute, breathing deeply, as he tried to figure out what had just happened.

A grinding sound above him gained his attention and he looked up to see a golden stave being lowered by chains.

-Kailee's Test-

While Adrianna and Keegan were busy fighting their own personal battles, Kailee was facing a problem of her own. The tunnel that she had taken had started out like all the rest. Dark, damp, and musty. But as she had advanced further into it, it had begun to change. The dampness in the air had disappeared, taking with it the musty smell. Up ahead, a red-orange flickering glow lit up the end of the tunnel.

Reaching the light, Kailee's eyes opened wide as saw what lay ahead of her. The wide rock floor of the tunnel suddenly twisted as it followed the side of the stone wall above a deep pit. The flickering glow had been caused by the huge flames of fire and lava that filled the pit. But that wasn't what frightened her. It was the fact that as the trail wound around the pit, it narrowed so much that in some places it was almost impossible for a person stand on.

She was afraid of falling into the fire; fire was one of her elements. She dealt with fire on a daily basis. It was the falling part that scared her.

Kailee was afraid of heights.

As she stood staring at the narrow pathway debating whether she could possibly turn back, she heard a loud noise behind her that caused her to quickly make up her mind.

"There sshould be one of them down here! After her!" Scales yelled at the group of serpentine that were with him. She couldn't see them yet, but she knew they were getting close.

Taking a deep breath, Kailee carefully stepped on the narrow trail. She moved slowly, her back hugging the rock wall, as she inched along. Once, she allowed her eyes to fall towards the deep flaming pit and immediately realized her mistake. She swallowed hard, jerking her eyes away from the drop and refocusing them on where she was going.

By the time she had gotten a little more than halfway across, the serpentine emerged from the tunnel. Spotting Kailee, they began to follow the narrow trail towards her. Luckily, the trail where she was at began to widen enough to allow her to be able to run.

And run she did.

She heard a few of the serpentine yelled as they slipped off the narrow rocky edge and plummeted down into the flames below.

Why didn't she just fight them? she wondered to herself. Probably because there's only one of me and about ten or more of them. No, she'd just have to depend on her ability to outrun them. But how long could she outrun them for? She had an advantage over them because of the fact that they were still on the narrow ledge and were not able to move very fast. Would her head start give her enough of an advantage once they were able to run again?

From the sounds the serpentine were making behind her, she was about to find out.

Sure enough, the serpentine had crossed the narrow trail and were quickly gaining on her. Kailee's run picked up speed as she heard them getting closer.

Running at top speed, rounded a bend in the tunnel and gasped as she slid to a stop right on the edge of a cliff. A piece of rock broke off of the edge, bouncing off of other rocks as it tumbled straight down. Kailee tentatively looked down at the drop. It was almost three times as deep as the previous one had been. There were no flames at the bottom of this one though.

Oh great, Kailee thought to herself. Now what am I supposed to do?

Behind her, she could hear the serpentine getting closer. Frantically, her eyes searched the rocky walls for some way to go. She spotted an opening on the other side of the drop, directly across from where she was currently standing. But there was no way to get to it.

The serpentine were getting closer.

The only thing she could do was jump.

But there was no way she could make it! The drop was almost as wide as it was deep. NO ONE could jump that far!

The serpentine were almost caught up to her.

She had two choices. Either jump or be captured by the serpentine. She had no desire to be captured by the serpentine. She had heard plenty of her mother and uncles' stories about what the serpentine did to their prisoners. She shook her head. There was no way she was going to let herself get captured.

But that left her with only one choice. To jump.

Kailee closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Taking a few steps back, she got a running start and leaped off of the edge just as the serpentine rounded the corner.

For a moment she felt like she was floating as she sailed up and across the ditch. She was almost there. Her hand reached out to grab onto the ledge. But she was still too far away from it. She felt herself coming down and stretched her hand out further towards the rocky ledge. It was inches from her fingers as she fell down past it.

"No!" Kailee screamed as she stared up at the ledge she had been so close to grabbing.

She was falling.

Her arms and legs flailed as she frantically tried to reach the wall, hoping that there would be some kind of a ledge that she would be able to use to stop her fall.

But the rock wall was too smooth.

Tears came to her eyes as she continued plummeting faster and faster towards the rocky ground below. If she was to hit those rocks at the speed she falling at now, she knew she would be killed for sure.

Wait a minute! What was it Sensei had told her about their test? It was something about unlocking the full power of her pendant.

Kailee reached for the broken heart pendant that hung on a chain around her neck. Could this really save her? She wasn't sure but at that moment, she was willing to try anything.

Oh please work! she thought desperately to herself.

Gripping it tightly in her palm, she closed her eyes and cleared her mind, concentrating hard on the pendant.

Suddenly, she felt herself stop falling and instead, begin to rise. A strong breeze began to blow. She opened her eyes. Sure enough, she was slowly gaining speed as she rose towards the rocky ledge. Hearing a flapping sound, she looked behind her, expecting to see some kind of bird. But she was not expecting what she saw.

Wings, but they were not attached to a bird. They were attached to HER back.

Once she had reached the ledge, she climbed up onto it. Slowly, she stretched her wings out to their full extent and tentatively reached back to touch the beautiful white feathers.

They're so pretty! she thought to herself. But where did they come from?

That's when she noticed her pendant glowing.

Suddenly, the realization hit her. She had wings! She could fly!

Oh boy! Kailee thought excitedly. Wait until Jayne sees this!

-Jayne's Test-

After Kailee had left her, Jayne had taken a deep breath and started into her tunnel. The confidence she had gotten from her twin sister disappeared quickly as she journeyed deeper and deeper into the dark tunnel. Unlike Kailee's tunnel, the damp, musty odor didn't go away. Instead, it seemed to get worse the deeper into the tunnel she went. After a while, she began to hear something. It sounded like a waterfall.

Oh no, she thought to herself as she rounded a bend in the tunnel. Sure enough, there was a beautiful waterfall spilling over the rock wall and into the large underground lake below it. The lake completely blocked the pathway.

"Oh great," she muttered softly to herself. "How am I supposed to get around this?" Maybe it's not very deep, she thought as she timidly dipped her hand into the water. She reached her arm as far into the water as she could, but she couldn't feel the bottom of the lake.

It was very deep.

Jayne sighed and sat down on a boulder that sat near the water.

Now what? she asked herself.

She couldn't swim. She had never learned. Kailee had tried to teach her, but she just never could get it.

Jayne sighed again. That wasn't completely true. The real reason that she couldn't swim was because she was afraid.

Jayne was afraid of water.

That had been one of her biggest fears as far back as she could remember.

She knew she was being silly. She was the ninja of ice and ice is just frozen water right? It wasn't too different from water was it?

For Jayne, the answer was yes. They were very different. Ice couldn't catch you in a current and pull you down, drowning you in the process. Water could. Ice kept you afloat; it kept you from sinking below the surface. Water wasn't half as merciful.

A sudden noise behind her made her jump.

"Come on, Ssscalesss ssssaid that the other girl isss down here," a serpentine hissed loudly at his companions. "We musst get her."

Jayne wasn't sure exactly how close they were, but she knew they were getting close. And they were looking for her! Frantically her eyes searched the rock walls of the cavern, desperately hoping to see some way of escape. But there was none.

The only way to escape the serpentine was to swim.

But I can't swim! she reminded herself as she stared down at the dark water.

Suddenly, she remembered Sensei's words. He had said something about unlocking the full power of the pendant.

Jayne cupped the broken heart pendant in her palm and stared down at it. What could this do to save her?

The serpentine were getting closer. She could hear them talking. A few more seconds and she knew they would reach her.

She glanced back down at the pendant.

"I don't know what you can do," she told it, "but I hope you can get me out of this alive."

Taking the deepest breath she could take, Jayne dove into the water just as the serpentine rounded the bend.

For a few seconds, she sank deeper into the water. Then she began kicking her legs and flailing her arms about, trying desperately to copy what she had watched Kailee do so many times before.

Slowly, she felt herself begin to move through the water. She was getting the hang of it!

This isn't so bad! she thought to herself. It's actually kinda fun!

Then she remembered that she needed air. Her lungs began to feel like they would burst. Jayne began to swim up towards the surface.

But she had gone deeper into the water than she had realized. Her chest hurt terribly and she struggled against the urge to breathe. There was no way she was gonna make it to the surface in time.

Then, something happened. The pain in her chest disappeared. Her lungs no longer felt like they would burst. What was happening? she wondered.

She felt a sharp pain in her legs as she continued to kick them back and forth through the water. But now, they felt funny. It felt as if they were joined together.

Finally, she reached the surface. Relief washed over her as her head broke out of the water and she felt the cool breeze on her wet face. She looked around and saw that she had almost reached the other end of the lake. Quickly, she swam towards it and pulled herself out of the water and onto the rocky ground. She lay there on the rocks for a moment, resting, before she tried to stand up.

But her legs wouldn't work right. She sat up and looked down at them, but she was not prepared for what she saw. With a gasp, she covered her mouth, her eyes opening wide in surprise.

Her two creamy white skinned legs had been replaced by a shiny scaled fish tail.

This has GOT to be a dream, Jayne thought to herself. Tentatively, she touched it. It was real.

Then she noticed that her pendant was glowing.

Slowly, the realization of what had happened began to sink in. She had a mermaid tail!

But wait a minute! How am I supposed to get around on land with this tail? she wondered.

As if it had read her thoughts, she watched as her mermaid tail slowly changed back to her legs.

Oh, Wow! I can't believe it! Jayne thought excitedly to herself. Wait until Kailee sees this!

Well, there it is! What do you think?

Also, I know that I currently have a contest going about the kids' ninja uniforms, but I have another favor to ask. I've been getting a lot of messages asking when I am planning on bringing Jay back into the story. Well, to tell the truth, I do have an idea, but I don't really like it too much.

So I was wondering if any of you had any good ideas? Please help me out here! Any idea is welcome! You can put it in story format or it can just be a few sentences. You can either message it to me, or if you are a guest and don't have an account, you can submit it in the reviews.

I cannot wait to read all of your ideas!

QUESTION:

Which one of the kids' tests did you like best? Why?


	28. Chapter 28

Ok, I know it's been a while since I updated, but I've been really busy lately. I really have. I feel really bad about making y'all wait so long. I didn't even submit this chapter to my beta reader first because I didn't want y'all to have to wait any longer. So please don't throw anything at me! (Dodges fruit and vegetables; a tomato hits me in the forehead) All right, I guess I deserve that, but I hope this chapter will make up for the long wait I've given y'all.

I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed! Y'all are truly a great encouragement and I LOVE reading your reviews so please keep em coming! ;-)

Also, about the drawing contest for my OC characters, I decided to go ahead and choose the winner. Thank you everyone who entered a drawing! They were all really awesome, but there can only be one winner, sooooooo the winner is (drum roll) LadyMarissaGarmadon or SkyguySnips! Congratulations! If you want to check out her drawings, head on over to and look on her gallery page. She drew every one of my OCs almost exactly like I had pictured them!

Anyway, here's the next chapter and I hope that you enjoy it!

Chapter 28

'Where are they? They've been gone for so long. What if something happened to them?'

Nya stood at the wooden railing, her eyes studying the tunnel exit that was in view as she anxiously watched for any sign of her daughters. She didn't realize how tense she was until she felt one of Kai's strong hand begin to massage her shoulder as he came to stand beside her.

"They're just fine, Sis," Kai assured her.

"How can you be so sure?" Nya asked him, not taking her eyes of the dark hole in the mountain.

"Because I just know," her brother replied. Nya gave him a look, letting him know that she wasn't satisfied with his answer. "Nya, Sensei wouldn't have sent them in there if he didn't think they could handle it."

Nya sighed. "You're right, I guess I'm just worrying too much." A tiny smile came to her lips, causing her brother to smile return.

"I think that's supposed to be a mother's job," he told her. "If it'll make you feel better, I'll go talk to Sensei and see if I can get him to tell me anything else about the kids."

"Thanks, Kai," Nya replied, her smile widening.

She watched as he nodded and turned to head below deck before she allowed her attention to wander back to the teenagers. She knew Kai was probably right. She was worrying too much. Still, she couldn't ignore the nagging voice inside her head that kept telling her that something was wrong.

As the older ninja would learn later, Nya's worries were not in vain. Unbeknownst to them, the four teenagers were in the middle of the toughest serpentine battle that they had ever faced.

Once they had each completed their tests, the four tunnels had led them out into a large cavern where they found the serpentine gathered, waiting to ambush them.

At first, the young ninjas had stayed together as they fought off the serpentine, but as the battle wore on, the serpentine began to successfully separate them, causing their defenses to weaken.

The serpentine's strategy was to separate them. They knew that if they were successful in getting each of them alone, they would be able to overpower them.

Keegan was the first to realize this. His eyes scanned the army of serpentine until he spotted his cousins and Ayana. They too had been separated from each other. Quickly, he began fighting his way towards them.

"We have to stay together!" Keegan to them as he got closer. "We're strongest when we're together and they know it."

The girls fought their way over to him and the four young ninja stood back to back in a square as the serpentine continued to advance on them from all sides. They fought with everything they had, but the teenagers were rapidly growing weary. Their tests had taken a lot out of each of them, not to mention the fact that they had been battling the serpentine for a while now. Although they were using every ounce of fighting knowledge that they had been taught, it wasn't enough. The serpentine were still coming, fighting just as strong as ever. They needed something else. Something new. A miracle.

As these thoughts whirled around in each of their heads, a sudden idea came to Kailee. With one hand she reached for the pendant which hung around her neck.

"Jayne! Our pendants!" she called to her sister in excitement. Jayne, who was standing with her back to Kailee, was confused.

"What about them?" she yelled back as she fought off a threatening hypnobrai.

"Both of them are halves of a broken heart," Kailee explained. "If the halves were put together, they might have some kind of special affect." Jayne grasped her pendant in her palm and studied it. Kailee had a point. In fact the edge was sort if jagged as if it was supposed to be connected to something.

"It's worth a try," Jayne agreed as she turned to face her sister.

"You two might want to stand back," Kailee told Keegan and Ayana. "No telling what might happen when these are reconnected." They nodded and stepped away from the twins.

Standing facing each other, Kailee and Jayne each held their halves of the broken heart in their hands. Kailee took a deep breath.

"You ready?" she asked her sister. Jayne nodded.

"Let's do it," she replied. Then Kailee started their special saying.

"'Together,'" she began as she lifted her hand, palm facing her sister. Jayne joined in on, "'Forever,'" and raised her hand to meet Kailee's, folding their fingers together. Then Jayne said "'Divided,'" and raised her half of the broken heart as Kailee joined her on, "'Never.'" She lifted her half of the heart to meet Jayne's.

As the distance between the halves of the heart grew less, each half began glow brightly, the glow growing brighter the closer the pieces got. There was a soft 'clink' sound as the metal halves connected with each other, the glow that was radiating off of them was so bright it was almost blinding. The light continued to grow until it had completely engulfed the twins in its brightness. Keegan and Ayana covered were forced to cover their eyes in order to protect them from the dangerously bright glow.

The serpentine were spellbound. They seemed to have forgotten everything as they stood and stared at the light that surrounded the girls.

Suddenly, everything seemed to happen at once. The wind began to swirl violently, creating dangerous tornados within the cavern. Lightning began to flash threw the cavern, striking several of the serpentine. Rain began to fall in torrents, bringing with it baseball sized chunks of hail. Fire began shooting out of the bright glow, igniting any serpentine it touched, burning them to a crisp within seconds. The hard packed rock floor began cracking and separating, causing large bits of the rock ceiling to fall.

Panic was everywhere. Serpentine were yelling and screaming and making any other noise imaginable for a serpentine to make as they ran around in circles, frantically trying to escape the angry elements.

Keegan had dropped to the ground, pulling Ayana with him, in an effort to protect them both not only from the angry elements, but also from the panicking serpentine. His arm was wrapped protectively around Ayana as they lay on the ground, her face buried in his shoulder.

"Retreat!" Scales yelled loudly above the panic to his army as all of them began to make a wild dash for the cave exit. Each of the elements followed them, continuing to torment them until they were completely out of the cavern. Once all of the serpentine were gone, the bright glow surrounding the twins began to fade.

Sensing that it was safe, Keegan slowly opened his eyes and seeing that it was, he stood to his feet, Ayana following his lead. As the last glow of light disappeared, the twins dropped to the ground in exhaustion. Keegan and Ayana cautiously approached them.

"Kailee? Jayne?" Keegan said his cousins' names as he reached them. Kneeling beside Jayne, he gently touched her shoulder. No response. They simply lay there, still, unmoving, as if they were dead.

'No, they can't be!' Keegan thought to himself.

"Are they all right?" Ayana asked, her voice filled with worry as she knelt by Kailee. Keegan didn't respond right away. His eyes searched his cousins for any sign of life. His hands were shaking as he reached for Jayne's wrist to feel for her pulse.

Oh no! Are the twins really dead? You tell me what you think in the reviews!

Also, just a little side note, I will be going to church camp on Monday for a week and we're not allowed to bring our iPods so I won't be able to reply to anybody's reviews or read any new chapters until I get back. But don't worry, I will catch up in them! I promise! So make sure you review! ;-)


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